- Prime Minister Modi inaugurated Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram
- The Rs 5,000 crore airport aims to boost industrial growth and employment in North Andhra
- The airport can handle six million passengers annually in phase one and plans to expand
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport in Visakhapatnam at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district.
The Andhra Pradesh government views the nearly Rs 5,000 crore Bhogapuram Airport, developed by GMR Group, not merely as an infrastructure project, but as a transformational asset for the entire North Andhra region. It was conceived as a catalyst for industrial growth, employment generation, exports, skill development and research.
Designed to handle six million passengers annually in the first phase, the airport also has a master plan to expand the capacity to 40 million passengers annually.
Commercial operations of the airport would begin from August 17.
Modi said the country's aviation sector has witnessed extraordinary progress, noting that the number of airports has more than doubled from 74 to 166.
After inaugurating the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport in Bhogapuram near here, Modi said the project will serve as a "runway" for the development of Andhra Pradesh, especially the northern region.
Referring to the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN, he said it has provided people from small towns the opportunity to fly. Highlighting the growth and development potential of Andhra, the prime minister said the state's northern region can transform into a thriving coastal economic corridor.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu highlighted the salient features of the airport to the PM.
Later in the day, PM Modi would lay the foundation for and inaugurate projects worth nearly Rs 18,000 crore in the southern state.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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