VISAKHAPATNAM: The process of
land acquisition
for the proposed
greenfield airport
project at
Bhogapuram
in
Vizianagaram
district is likely to be completed by mid-February.
The Vizianagaram district administration has acquired 2,552 acres for the project and needs to acquire another 198 acres. Meanwhile, a group of farmers in Bhogapuram and Polipalli villages have approached the court to stall the land acquisition process.
Vizianagaram district joint collector GC Kishore Kumar told TOI that some farmers have challenged land acquisition and the administration is waiting for the court nod to acquire around 124 acres of land. The administration has issued a fresh notification to acquire over 75 acres. If all goes according to plan, the administration will acquire 198 acres within four to five weeks, he added.
A few months ago, the government had released over Rs 110 crore for fresh land acquisition around the
Bhogapuram airport
area as an approach road of over 5 kilometres, providing connectivity to National Highway (NH)-26, had to be constructed. The district administration has held meetings with officials and representatives of farmers to overcome hurdles in land acquisition.
The GMR Group had inked an agreement with the government to develop Bhogapuram International Airport near Vizag city. The greenfield airport is expected to provide air connectivity to north-coastal
Andhra Pradesh.
The government is also planning to lay roads to facilitate connectivity to Vizag city from the airport and provide metro rail connectivity to the airport from Vizag city.