Santosh Patnaik Visakhapatnam

AlluriSitarama Raju (ASR) International Airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaramdistrict built with green-friendly technologies is expected to change the industrial landscape of North Andhra.

All arrangements are complete to accord a rousing reception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he will land in a special aircraft at Bhogapuram to declare the airport open on August 1. "We are trying to greet him with 14,000 tribal girls studying VIII, IX and X in ITDA schools. They will perform Dhimsa dance to set a Guinness record,"MSME Minister Kondapalli Srinivas, said on Friday. The first phase of the airport completed ahead of schedule by GMR Group under DBFOT basis in Vizianagaram district, about 45 to 50 km from Visakhapatnam, at an estimated cost of Rs4,750 crore,is built with international standards, modern technology and advanced infrastructure.

Sprawling over 2,203 acres, the airport features a 3,800-metre-long, 45-metre-wide CAT-I runway capable of handling Airbus and Boeing aircraft, a 79,000 sq. m. two-level passenger terminal, a 5,000 sq. m. cargo terminal with an annual handling capacity of 25,000 tonnes, a 55-metre-high Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower with 11,000 sq. m. built-up area, and a 25-acre world-class Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) complex with hangars, aircraft wash bays and engine run-up areas.

The terminal includes 40 check-in counters, 12 Digi Yatra pods, self-service baggage drop counters, 10 domestic and five international security screening lanes, 10 e-gates, 10 immigration counters each for arrivals and departures, five domestic and two international baggage belts, eight domestic and two international bus gates, retail outlets, food courts, airline offices and commercial spaces.

The airport is designed with a flying fish-inspired architecture reflecting its coastal location, the terminal ceiling incorporates traditional North Andhra motifs, while the airport has been built to withstand cyclonic winds of up to 275 kmph. In its first phase, the airport will handle six million passengers annually, with future expansion planned to 12 million and ultimately 18 million passengers per year based on demand. The project is expected to boost passenger traffic, cargo exports of agriculture, marine and industrial products, tourism and regional economic growth.

The greenfield airport will also be the nearest international gateway for South Odisha & Chhattisgarh belt. The salient features of the airport include the development of a dedicated cargo terminal at Bhogapuram International Airport, aimed at strengthening air logistics infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh, total built-up area of 5,000 sq. m. (50 per cent completed) with a planned annual handling capacity of 25,000 MT per annum, support for key cargo segments across pharmaceuticals, perishables, textiles & engineering goods, electronics, and e-commerce shipments. There will be a strong focus on high-value, time-sensitive cargo, especially pharma, seafood, and e-commerce.