Long-delayed Dagadarthi airport finally cleared for takeoff

Nellore: In a major boost to the long-pending demand of Nellore residents, the dream of having an airport is set to become a reality, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation accepting the proposal to construct an airport at Damavaram village in Dagadarthi mandal.

At a recent District Review Committee (DRC) meeting, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P Narayana announced that works would commence soon. He said preliminary discussions with Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu had yielded positive results.

According to the Union Minister, representatives of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are expected to inspect the proposed site shortly.

The airport is proposed to be developed over 1,379 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 468 crore. So far, the State government has acquired 650 acres, while land acquisition for the remaining 729 acres is under various stages of progress. District Collector Himanshu Shukla recently submitted a report after senior officials from the Roads & Buildings Department and the Infrastructure Corporation and Investments visited the site.

Official sources said the airport will be developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Once completed, it is expected to handle around 20 lakh passengers and 55,000 tonnes of cargo annually.

The project was originally sanctioned during the TDP government between 2014 and 2019. The Airports Authority of India completed a feasibility study for a 2,480-acre site at Damavaram village in 2015.

In 2017, SCL-Turbo Consortium Private Limited signed a concession agreement with the State government to develop the airport under the PPP model. However, the agreement was terminated in July 2020 due to various reasons, including a change in government.