Bhogapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport on Saturday at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh.

Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport was developed by the GMR Group. Bhogapuram airport is nearly Rs 5,000-crore greenfield project expected to boost connectivity and drive economic growth in the state’s north coastal region. Bhogapuram airport will begin commercial flight operations from August 17^th with an initial annual passenger handling capacity of six million. The Bhogapuram facility is the second greenfield airport in the country to become operational this year, after Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar airport, which commenced commercial operations on June 15^th.

The Andhra Pradesh Government has projected the airport as a key infrastructure project aimed at accelerating industrial development, employment generation, exports, skill development and research across North Andhra. Spread over 2,200 acres, the airport has been developed by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Ltd (GVIAL) under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model using the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) framework.

The broader integrated development spans 2,703.26 acres, comprising the airport across 2,203.32 acres, a 500-acre aviation hub, and an aviation university and EduCity spread over 136.63 acres. The project also includes airside infrastructure, commercial and residential developments, and approach roads.

During the inauguration, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu briefed the Prime Minister on the project’s key features.

Modi laid the foundation stone for the Rs 460 crore ASIP Semiconductor Project at Visakhapatnam, being developed by ASIP Technologies Pvt Ltd in partnership with APACT, Republic of Korea.

He also laid the foundation stone for the Transmission System for the integration of Kurnool-IV Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) – Phase-I (4.5 GW), being implemented by POWERGRID through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) at an investment of about Rs 5,550 crore. He also inaugurated the transmission system for Kurnool Wind Energy Zone and Solar Energy Zone (Andhra Pradesh) – Part A & Part B, implemented at a cost of around Rs 3,550 crore, besides the transmission scheme for Solar Energy Zone in Ananthapuram (2,500 MW) and Kurnool (1,000 MW), implemented by POWERGRID at a cost of over Rs 820 crore.

PM Modi dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone for National Highway (NH) projects worth over Rs 1,880 crore. The projects launched include the four-lane access-controlled greenfield highway from Recherla to Guruvaygudem section of NH-365 BG, the four-lane access-controlled greenfield highway from Guruvaygudem to Devarapalle section of NH-365BG, and the four-lane Tadipatri Bypass on NH-67. He also laid the foundation stone for a high-level bridge at Lingasamudram on the Penchalakona–Yerpedu section of NH-565.