A file photo of an aircraft being accorded a ceremonial water cannon salute during the validation flight at the Alluri Sitharama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram, which is targeted to become operational by June.
| Photo Credit: PTI
To give a fillip to civil aviation in Andhra Pradesh, the State government has taken steps to construct seven greenfield airports, including one in the capital Amaravati, at a total estimated cost of ₹7,472 crore, while focusing on making the Alluri Sitharama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram operational by June 2026.
The seven airports are proposed at Dagadarthi (Nellore), Kuppam, Amaravati, Srikakulam, Nagarjuna Sagar (NSP), Ongole, and Anantpur (whose cost is being assessed).
Besides, it has been decided to have airports at Tuni-Annavaram and Tadepalligudem.
The NSP airport is planned to be developed under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), and its Techno-Economic Feasibility Report (TEFR) has already been prepared by Grant Thornton. A joint venture is likely to be formed with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for construction of the Ongole airport.
The government is preparing to give 4,500 acres of land for the construction of the Amaravati airport under Land Pooling Scheme (LPS)- 2, along with the land required for the Amaravati railway station and the International Sports City, as no lands pooled under LPS-1 are available for allotment to them.
According to official sources, the Infrastructure & Investments Department has pegged the estimated cost of Phase-I of the Amaravati airport at approximately ₹4,700 crore and it is going to be constructed in PPP mode on design–build-finance-operate-transfer basis.
RITES Ltd., a Central PSU, has completed the TEFR. Once the land is identified, the government will seek site clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy airport at Orvakal (Kurnool) has been identified for brownfield expansion with a capital expenditure of ₹450 crore and the government received stakeholder interest for setting up a MRO facility and a flying training organisation at the adjoining Orvakal industrial node.
Apart from setting up greenfield airports and expanding some of the existing ones, the State government resolved to avail Central government’s support for the establishment of heliports and water aerodromes.
Published – March 14, 2026 06:22 pm IST
