Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu on Sunday hoped that the construction of Bhogapuram International Airport would be completed before the deadline. After a visit to the construction site in Vizianagaram district, he expressed his satisfaction over the progress of the work. The minister stated that 36.6 per cent works of the airport have been completed. During the last one month, 4.8 per cent works were completed.
The minister said the Central government was giving top priority to the development of this airport work and was trying to ensure that the project is completed before the deadline. As per the schedule, the airport is to be completed by December 2026. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, during his recent visit, wanted the construction work to be completed by June 2026. Rammohan Naidu said the works were progressing as per the deadline set by the Chief Minister.
He believes that this airport will have the potential to change the face of north Andhra. “For this reason, the government is giving priority to this airport,” he said. The minister said progress in the construction works will be reviewed every month. He said 36.6 per cent works were completed as on August 11. This was 31.8 per cent on July 11. He said 4.8 per cent works were carried out during last one month.
As per the schedule decided earlier, 20 per cent works should have been completed as on August 11 but 36.6 per cent works have been completed. Earthwork, which was completed 97.1 per cent till last month, is now 98 per cent completed. He said 38.67 per cent of the works relating to runway have been completed while this was 32 per cent last month. Similarly, 20.78 per cent works of taxiway were completed while it was 16.7 per cent last month.
The minister 27.2 per cent Terminal building works and 30.69 per cent of ATC works have been completed. Six to 12 per cent works like sub-station and water treatment plants have been completed. Rammohan Naidu was accompanied by state minister Kondapalli Srinivas and G. Sandhya Rani. He reviewed the progress of the construction works with the officials of GMR and L&T.
Within India, Priority Pass lounges and travel experiences have seen a significant uptick in popularity among domestic travellers. From January to June 2024, there was a 55 per cent increase in visits to these facilities by Indian travellers compared to the same period last year. Notably, visits to alternative travel experiences such as spas, sleep pods, and restaurants grew by 71 per cent, outpacing the 54 per cent growth in visits to traditional airport lounges.
GMR Group Deputy Managing I. Prabhakar Rao briefed the minister on the status of the work. The Central and state ministers inspected the airport terminal work. Rammohan Naidu interacted with a few workers. They also reviewed the construction of Air Traffic Control. After an inspection of runway works, the ministers reached L&T project site, where GMR officials made a presentation on the ongoing works.He congratulated GMR and L&T officials for continuing the works to achieve this progress despite heavy rains. Rammohan Naidu said Navi Mumbai airport and the one near Noida are targeted to be completed by April next year. He exuded confidence that the civil aviation sector will register tremendous progress in the next five years.
He said Civil Aviation Ministry was making all efforts to improve civil aviation infrastructure in both the Telugu states. He said new airports will come up at Moolapet in Srikakulam district, Dagadarthi, Nagarjuna Sagar and Kuppam. In addition to this, proposals are under consideration for developing new airports at Anantapur and Ongole. As Telangana has no airport other than Hyderabad, proposals are under consideration for developing airports at Kothagudem, Adilabad and Warangal, he added.
