BHOGAPURAM (VIZIANAGARAM): Terming the Bhogapuram International Airport a game-changer for North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday declared that the region is entering an era of “reverse migration”, powered by global connectivity and massive industrial investments.
Framing the milestone under the banner, “Uttara Andhra... Ikapai Uttama Andhra” (North Andhra... From Now On, Best Andhra), Naidu emphasised that a region long known for outward migration is now poised to attract talent, professionals and investment back home.
Speaking at the inauguration of the greenfield airport, the Chief Minister dedicated the achievement to local farmers who voluntarily pooled 2,203 acres for the project, hailing them as the “true architects of North Andhra’s golden future”.
Built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model by the GMR Group, the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport forms the cornerstone of an expansive economic framework designed to transform the region’s industrial and logistics landscape.
Naidu said North Andhra has secured 189 development projects worth Rs 6.13 lakh crore over the past two years, which are expected to generate 5.57 lakh direct and indirect jobs.
He said the surrounding infrastructure initiatives — including the Visakhapatnam-Bhogapuram Beach Corridor, a 500-acre Aviation Hub, an EduCity with specialised aviation training facilities, and expanded industrial corridors for pharmaceuticals and rare earth minerals — will help establish the region as a permanent commercial hub. He outlined a comprehensive roadmap for a water grid.
He said the State has allocated Rs 2,784 crore to complete eight priority irrigation projects over the next three years, secured long-pending approvals and funding for the 65-year-old Neradi Barrage project, and set August 14 as the target to bring Godavari waters to Anakapalli while advancing the Vamsadhara-Godavari river interlinking project.
