Hyderabad: With the Andhra Pradesh government deciding to review major infrastructure projects in the state that were awarded by the previous administration, one major infrastructure project that looks set to be in cold storage appears to be the new international airport proposed to be built in Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, about 45 km from the existing international airport at Visakhapatnam.
According to a senior bureaucrat in Vijayawada, the AP government has put all major projects announced by the former TDP government, for screening and review. “It may take some time before the government gets around to focusing on the airport project,” the bureaucrat said on Tuesday.
“The government will also need to get clarity on whether the existing airport in Visakhapatnam, which is managed by the Airports Authority of India, will continue to be operational once the Bhogapuram airport commences operations. It makes no sense to have two international airports less than 100 km from each other,” he said.
An AP government official who was supervising the bidding process for the Bhogapuram airport, three companies had been short-listed for the project back in February this year. They were the GMR group, the GVK group and a consortium in which YES Bank, a private bank, had a stake.
The GMR group, promoted by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, currently owns and manages the international airports in Hyderabad and New Delhi, while the GVK group, promoted by GV Krishna Reddy, owns and operates the international airport in Mumbai.
Four other bidders pulled are reported to have backed out for various reasons. Among the bidders were the Essel group and the Anil D. Ambani groups, both of which are facing serious financial difficulties of their own.
07/08/19 Shaukat Mohammed/Times of India
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According to a senior bureaucrat in Vijayawada, the AP government has put all major projects announced by the former TDP government, for screening and review. “It may take some time before the government gets around to focusing on the airport project,” the bureaucrat said on Tuesday.
“The government will also need to get clarity on whether the existing airport in Visakhapatnam, which is managed by the Airports Authority of India, will continue to be operational once the Bhogapuram airport commences operations. It makes no sense to have two international airports less than 100 km from each other,” he said.
An AP government official who was supervising the bidding process for the Bhogapuram airport, three companies had been short-listed for the project back in February this year. They were the GMR group, the GVK group and a consortium in which YES Bank, a private bank, had a stake.
The GMR group, promoted by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, currently owns and manages the international airports in Hyderabad and New Delhi, while the GVK group, promoted by GV Krishna Reddy, owns and operates the international airport in Mumbai.
Four other bidders pulled are reported to have backed out for various reasons. Among the bidders were the Essel group and the Anil D. Ambani groups, both of which are facing serious financial difficulties of their own.
07/08/19 Shaukat Mohammed/Times of India
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