Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport: A new gateway for Andhra Pradesh
Exactly at 11 a.m. on Saturday (August 1, 2026), Andhra Pradesh will turn a new leaf in its post-bifurcation history. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied
Exactly at 11 a.m. on Saturday (August 1, 2026), Andhra Pradesh will turn a new leaf in its post-bifurcation history. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu, Governor S. Abdul Nazeer and others, will inaugurate the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district. The airport is the first international airport to be developed in Andhra Pradesh after the State’s bifurcation in 2014. Built to global standards by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL), a subsidiary of the GMR Group, it has come up on more than 2,200 acres, with nearly 500 acres earmarked for future expansion. The project, costing more than ₹4,700 crore, has been developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis. While the airport will be inaugurated on August 1, commercial operations are expected to begin on August 17, when the existing Visakhapatnam Airport at INS Dega will cease civilian operations. Why Bhogapuram? The existing airport at INS Dega is a civil enclave within the Indian Navy’s airbase.
Civilian operations are constrained by military priorities, limiting flight slots, round-the-clock operations and the handling of larger aircraft. More importantly, the airport has little room for expansion, being hemmed in by defence land and urban development. There is virtually no scope for extending the runway, building larger terminals or creating additional aircraft parking bays. A new greenfield airport, therefore, became essential not only to meet growing aviation demand but also to support the overall economic development of north coastal Andhra Pradesh. Bhogapuram was chosen because it is strategically located, serving the three north coastal districts of Visakhapatnam (45 km), Vizianagaram (20 km) and Srikakulam (60 km). The site is adjacent to Highway 16, the Chennai-Kolkata corridor, offering seamless connectivity for passengers and cargo while complementing industrial and export corridors. Equally important, it has ample land available for future expansion. There was another compelling reason. The Ministry of Defence has long envisioned INS Dega as a full-fledged naval air station. It already hosts several frontline squadrons operating Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft, Chetak and Dhruv helicopters, Kamov Ka-28 anti-submarine warfare helicopters, Sea King helicopters and Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers.
The BriefWire