Govt plans to expedite new airport works in Nellore district

Vijayawada: Reviving the high-flying dreams of people in Nellore district, the state govt has decided to expedite plans to take up a new airport near Dagadarthi in the district. The govt had already identified about 1,379 acres of land for the airport. However, part of the land is yet to be acquired. The district administration has started the initiated the process to acquire the remaining land following the instructions from chief secretary. Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the plans for taking up works on the proposed airport projects in the state with civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu and senior officials in the union ministry during his recent visit to New Delhi. The chief minister wanted the senior officials to extend their full cooperation to launch new airport projects in the state. With the chief minister insisting that all new projects should be completed within three years, union civil aviation ministry is rushing through the process. A high-level delegation will visit Nellore to inspect the land shortly. In fact, Dagadarthi airport is a long-pending dream of the district as Chandrababu Naidu got it almost cleared by the Centre wayback in 2016. The central govt granted ‘in-principle' approval for construction of three greenfield airports in the State at Orvakal (Kurnool), Dagadarthi (Nellore) and Bhogapuram when Naidu was part of the first NDA govt led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While Orvakal airport was almost completed during Naidu's tenure, Bhogapuram international airport works picked up pace recently. Recently, the state govt added four more places for taking up new airports including Dagadarthi, Kuppam, Srikakulam and Nagarjuna Sagar. Though the AP Aviation Development Corporation (APADCL) signed concession agreement with Nellore International Airport Private Limited (NIAL) in 2018, the subsequent YSRCP govt terminated it, landing the airport project in limbo. "Civil aviation minister Rammohan Naidu has promised to start the airport works as soon as land acquisition is completed. We are hopeful of completing the process within six months to commence the works," said municipal administration minister Dr P Narayana. With Ramayapatnam port ready for launch, industrial units are expected to come up in big numbers in the district. Besides, mega industrial zone Kris City is also ready to offer space to industrial units. "Dagadarthi airport will be very useful and also viable as many big-ticket industries are coming to the district," said Narayana.
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