An expert panel under the Union Environment Ministry has cleared the construction of an international greenfield airport at Bhogapuram, 45 km from Visakhapatnam.
The Bhogapuram International Airport, which is proposed to be developed as a PPP project under a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) concession framework, will have a total investment outlay of ₹2,260.73 crore.
The report of the Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee noted that the project authority had “satisfactorily” responded to “issues raised in the public hearing”, and it had therefore “recommended the project for environmental clearance”.
The Andhra Pradesh government has created a special purpose vehicle, Bhogapuram International Airport Corporation Ltd, for the project.
A380-ready airport
Phase I of the airport will be able to handle operations of the jumbo Airbus A380 aircraft, and will involve construction of a new runway with all allied facilities such as terminal building, apron shoulder, taxi track, runway shoulder, boundary wall, perimeter roads and parking facilities, the EAC said.
The airport intends to decongest the Visakhapatnam airport and provide all-weather connectivity to the region, it added.