The GMR Group, in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Amaravati, signed a concession agreement with the State Government for the construction of the Bhogapuram international airport on Saturday.
Chairman G.B.S. Raju said that the firm was keen on commencing construction of the airport at the earliest after completing all formalities and procedures.
The proposed airport will come up in 2,200 acres of land in Bhogapuram mandal, which is 45 km from Visakhapatnam. The project involves design, building, finance, construction, development, operation and maintenance of a greenfield international airport for a period of 40 years, extendable by 20 years, through an international competitive bidding process with GMR Airports having the Right of First Refusal of 10%.
Mr. Raju hoped that the establishment of the airport would lead to a steady growth in passenger traffic. “We are very happy to be partnering with Government of Andhra Pradesh to develop, operate and manage the prestigious Bhogapuram International Airport. In line with our past record of creating world-class infrastructure, including the iconic Terminal 3 at Delhi International Airport, we aim to build a truly world-class airport at Bhogapuram which would be a matter of pride for the State of Andhra Pradesh and provide a further fillip to the economic potential of this region.” he added.
GMR Airports Limited Executive Director of Southern Region and Chief Innovation Officer S.G.K. Kishore said that they are looking forward to commencing construction at the earliest. “Bhogapuram Airport is a strategically located high-potential airport. It will be a welcome addition to our growing portfolio of Indian and global airports,” he said.
According to GMR executives, GMR Group’s airport portfolio has around 172 million passenger capacity in operation and under development, comprising India's busiest Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and Mactan Cebu International Airport in partnership with Megawide in Philippines.
