Bhogapuram Airport Andhra Pradesh: India’s leading airport developer and operator GMR Group has won a long-term contract for the development and operational management of a Greenfield airport near Vishakhapatnam in southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The Bhogapuram Airport will be located at some 45 kilometres north-east of Vishakhapatnam in north Andhra Pradesh.
Bhogapuram Airport is expected to boost the air connectivity and development of north Andhra Pradesh.
The Greenfield Airport will be built by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL), a fully owned subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited, as per the concession agreement signed with the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday.
Under the long-term contract, the GVIAL will operate and maintain the Bhogapuram airport for 40 years, with the provision for extension of contract by another 20 years.
“In line with our past record, we aim to build a truly world-class airport at Bhogapuram which would be a matter of pride for the State of Andhra Pradesh,” said GBS Raju, Business Chairman of GMR Airports.
GBS Raju, Business Chairman of GMR Airports. (Official Photo).
GBS Raju said the Bhogapuram airport will provide a fillip to the economic potential of this region.
The proposal for a new airport near Vishakhapatnam was first mooted in 2014, shortly after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in two states – Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. But there was little progress on the project for the last six years.
READ: Covid relief to defence industry: India extends delivery deadlines for domestic defence companies
In April 2020, GAL had received the Letter of Award for implementation of project under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
The project involves design, build, finance, construction, development, operation and maintenance of Greenfield International Airport at Bhogapuram for the period of 40 years.
The contract could be extended by another 20 years through an international competitive bidding process with GMR airports limited having the Right of First Refusal (RoFR) of 10 per cent.
READ: Airbus appoints Anand Stanley as President of Airbus Asia-Pacific
Growth opportunities at Bhogapuram Airport
According to some estimates, the existing civil enclave at Vishakapatnam Naval Airfield handled 2.78 million passengers and around 4,400 tonnes of cargo last year.
Over the past 5 years, the passenger traffic at the Vizag airport has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 21 per cent, and the Airport ranks at the 5th position amongst the custom airports in India in terms of Cargo traffic.
The proposed Greenfield airport site lies on the border of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts, and is approximately 45 kilometres from Visakhapatnam through National Highway No. 5 and some 25 kilometres from Vizianagaram via National Highway No. 43.
The site is strategically located on the east coast and stands to get benefit from the vast catchment area surrounding the region.
READ: MH-60R Seahawk for Indian Navy: US awards $905 million contract to Lockheed Martin Sikorsky
“Bhogapuram Airport is a strategically located high potential airport,” said SGK Kishore, Executive Director South of GMR Airports Limited.
“It will be a welcome addition to our growing portfolio of Indian and global airports and strengthens the airport platform of GMR Airports,” SKG Kishore noted.
He said the GAL was eagerly looking forward to completing the formalities and commence the construction.
“The beach corridor development is underway in proximity to the proposed International Airport in Bhogapuram which will provide impetus to retail and hospitality developments in the region,” the company said in a statement sent to Defence Star.
READ: Dassault Reliance Aerospace resumes operations at Nagpur plant
GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL)
GMR Infrastructure Limited, which is listed in India, has interests in Airport, Energy, Transportation and Urban Infrastructure
The GMR Group’s airport portfolio has around 172 million passenger capacity in operation and under development.
The company manages India’s busiest Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, and Mactan Cebu International Airport in the Philippines, in partnership with Megawide.
While Greenfield projects under development include Airport at Mopa in Goa and Airport at Heraklion, Crete, Greece which is being developed in partnership with GEK Terna.
The GMR-Megawide consortium has also won its second project in the Philippines to develop Clark International Airport’s EPC project.
READ: Indian Air Force inducts second squadron of LCA Tejas at Sular airbase
The GMR group recently signed concession agreement to commission, operationalize and maintain the Civilian Enclave at the Bidar Airport in North Karnataka.
GMR Group is also developing airport cities on the commercial land available around its airports in Delhi, Hyderabad and Goa.
READ: Pie in the sky: Modi faces tough challenge to attract FDI in defence sector
READ: Tata Power SED to modernise India’s military airfields in a $160 million contract
Defence Star, (www.defencestar.in) India’s leading defence news portal, is also available on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
