We will develop aviation ecosystem at Bhogapuram

Visakhapatnam: IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday said that Alluri Sitarama Raju Greenfield International Airport at Bhogapuram would be developed as a larger aviation ecosystem rather than just focusing on operating flight services.

After attending a court hearing for cross-examination in a defamation case in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, the minister wondered how former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy could take credit for the Bhogapuram airport. “While talking about Bhogapuram airport, the former chief minister had once remarked how an Airbus would enter an area where even a red bus would not go. Now, they (YSRCP) are claiming credit for,” Lokesh pointed out.

Explaining the larger picture of the airport, Lokesh said, “An ecosystem will be developed for employment creation and for that purpose we acquired 2,600 acres of land for the project earlier. However, Jagan Mohan Reddy had reduced 600 acres from the proposed site during the YSRCP’s tenure. Now, after the NDA government came to power, the agreed land was again handed over to the GMR Group,” the Minister explained.

The minister stated that the land was allotted keeping the future requirements in view. “An EduCity is also coming up in the region. In Hyderabad, 5,000 acres were allotted to the airport during the earlier TDP’s rule and that land bank is sufficient to be developed for the next 100 years. But it is not the case when it comes to Bengaluru Airport,” the Minister said.

About the road connectivity to Bhogapuram airport, Lokesh assured that the infrastructure would be completed at the earliest.

On the Greenfield capital Amaravati, Lokesh said, “As there is a legal backing, the then Jagan Mohan Reddy government could not shift the capital city despite an uproar over three capitals. The Amaravati development is now on fast track, and the changes are visible on a daily basis,” he mentioned.