It appears Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has a lot of affinity towards the GMR Group and it has once again come under scrutiny, with fresh allegations of preferential treatment.
After the state bifurcation, the Bhogapuram International Airport project was initially awarded to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). However, the Naidu government got the tender cancelled and reissued, allegedly to ensure the project was awarded to GMR Airports.
Despite objections from finance department officials over tender conditions, the project ultimately went to GMR.
YSR Congress party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was also in the opposition then, had alleged massive corruption in the deal.
But surprisingly, after coming to power in 2019, Jagan did not cancel the agreement with the GMR Group, but only reduced the airport land allocation by 500 acres. Thus, the project remained with GMR.
After the TDP returned to power, the reduced land was reportedly restored to GMR under various pretexts.
Now, the coalition government led by Naidu has decided to extend another major project to the same group - the GMR–MANSAS Aviation Education City in Visakhapatnam, without issuing fresh tenders or publicly releasing government orders.
The project was inaugurated by Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu and AP IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh on Tuesday.
Questions are being raised over how trust lands are being leased to a private entity, the lease tenure and cost, and whether additional government land will be allocated, as none of these details have been officially disclosed.
The government, however, maintains that the project marks the launch of India’s first integrated Aviation, Aerospace and Defence (AAD) Education City at Bhogapuram.
Spread initially over 160 acres—with potential expansion up to 500 acres—the project aims to address skill shortages in the rapidly growing aviation sector.
According to official estimates, passenger traffic across India’s airports is expected to reach 700 million and rise to 1.7 billion by 2030. The aerospace and defence market is projected to grow from $28.7 billion in 2024 to $57 billion by 2034.
The AAD Education City is envisioned as a national capability platform aligned with the National Civil Aviation Policy, NEP 2020, Make in India, and Defence Corridor initiatives.
It will host international universities, global branch campuses, advanced research centres, incubation facilities, and residential infrastructure.
Officials note that while Naidu facilitated the Bhogapuram airport project for GMR, his son and minister Nara Lokesh is now spearheading the Aviation Education City for the same group—raising questions whose answers, they say, may emerge in the coming days.