The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday decided to permit the GMR Group to go ahead with the development of the Bhogapuram International Airport near Visakhapatnam.
The state Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, approved a proposal to develop the Bhogapuram airport on public-private partnership mode and approved the 'highest bid' offered by GMR, according to Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani).
"Initially, it was proposed to develop the airport on 2,703 acres of land but now we have decided to give only 2,200 acres to GMR for the purpose. The remaining part of the land will be developed by the state government," the Information Minister told reporters.
He, however, did not divulge any details about the deal. He said the Cabinet decided to go ahead with GMR as it did not involve any monetary commitment on the part of the government.
As per the latest development model, GMR has offered to pay Rs 303 PPF (per passenger fee) to the government.
As per projections, the number of passengers is expected to be 3.1 million by 2021 and nine million by the year 2036, sources in the AP Airports Development Corporation said.
The development of a new international airport at Bhogapuram, 40 km northeast of Visakhapatnam, was first mooted in 2014 post-bifurcation of the state.
For various reasons, the project did not take off for close to six years.
Meanwhile, the state government decided to develop three ports in the state on its own. The ports are at Bhavanapadu (Srikakulam district), Machilipatnam (Krishna) and Ramayapatnam (Prakasam).
The Bhavanapadu port development was originally handed over to Adani Ports and SEZ Limited in January 2018 by the Chandrababu Naidu government but the infra major recently wrote to the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government stating it was withdrawing from the project for various reasons.
The YSRCP government last year cancelled the Machilipatnam port project, awarded to Navayuga, as it did not make any headway in more than a decade.
The previous TDP government proposed to develop a major port at Ramayapatnam after the proposal to build a port at Dugarajapatnam in SPS Nellore district did not materialise.
The Centre was supposed to develop a port at Dugarajapatnam in accordance with the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, but the project was found unviable because of its proximity to the Krishnapatnam port and other factors.
The YSRCP government decided to go ahead with the development of Ramayapatnam port and recently curtailed the territorial limits of the Krishnapatnam port.