Bhogapuram airport construction progressing as scheduled, says Union Minister K. Rammohan Naidu

Union Minister for Civil Aviation K. Rammohan Naidu on Saturday (September 13) said the international airport being constructed at Bhogapuram would be ready by June, 2026 as works had been going on as per the schedule fixed by the Union and State governments.

He reviewed the works and expressed satisfaction over the progress. Speaking to the media, he said the project would spur economic activity and enable air passengers to have a hassle free travel from the new international airport. GMR Group officials told the Minister that the work progress was good in spite of heavy rains in the past couple of months. They said that additional manpower had been deployed to complete works quickly and begin the airport operations in the month of June, 2026.

According to Mr. Rammohan Naidu, 86% of the work has been completed. Runway and the terminal buildings are almost ready and access road works were also taken up on a war footing. The air passengers of Visakhapatnam would have a speedy access to the airport with the junction improvement between Port City and the new airport region.

Road widening works are being taken up in places like Bhimili, Thallavalasa, Paradesipalem, Anandapuram, Vepagunta and other places to minimise the traffic congestion. “The government has also proposed metro corridor between Visakhapatnam and Bhogapuram. Six lanes beach corridor has been proposed between Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam to ensure quick movement of vehicles in the important stretch. A Detailed Project Report is being prepared for this purpose,” said Mr. Rammohan Naidu.

The Union Minister hoped that the air travellers’ number would go up to 60 lakhs a year in near future as against the existing 32.4 lakh per year from Visakhapatnam airport.

He exuded confidence that the construction of IT parks in and around Bhogapuram airport would spur economic activity in the region. He lauded Minister for IT and Education Nara Lokesh for taking initiative for the rescue of Indian travellers stranded in Nepal due to turmoil in the neighbouring country. Vizianagaram Collector S. Rama Sundar Reddy, in-charge Joint Collector S. Srinivasa Murthy and other officials were present during the Union Minister’s visit to the airport.