During a public meeting in Bhogapuram, Vizianagaram district, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation for the Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport and expressed confidence in winning a second term.
He stated that he will inaugurate the airport in 2026 and called it the "crown of north Andhra."
Jagan said that with the airport as the central development focus for Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Visakhapatnam districts, it would catalyze rapid growth in tourism, medical tourism, IT, and infrastructure in the area.
The GMR group is constructing the airport at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore, with an MoU signed between AP Airports Development Corporation and GMR Group.
In the first phase, there will be seven aerobridges, two runways, an aircraft maintenance wing, a plant quarantine center, an aviation academy, and a cargo terminal.
The airport is expected to handle 60 lakh passengers in the first phase, and the turnover is projected to reach four crore passengers after the third and final phase's completion.
The chief minister noted that the airport's completion would create five lakh jobs directly and indirectly, and job aspirants would no longer have to migrate to other states.
Jagan laid the foundation stone for the Tarakarama Thirtha Sagaram and a fish landing center in Chintapalli village, Vizianagaram district, at an estimated cost of Rs 194 crore, to provide drinking water to 49 villages, irrigate 30,000 acres of land, and supply five million liters of water to Bhogapuram airport.
Jagan blamed the opposition for creating obstacles, but the government overcame them, including cases in NGT, high court, and Supreme Court, to realize the project.
GMR Group Chairman G Mallikarjuna Rao expressed satisfaction in building an airport in his home district, Vizianagaram, and Nellimarla MLA Bandikonda Appala Naidu requested naming the airport after Dr. YSR Rajasekhara Reddy.