Nellore Airport is a proposed

greenfield airport A greenfield airport is an aviation facility with greenfield project characteristics. The designation reflects certain environmental qualities (using previously undeveloped or empty greenfield land, for example) and commissioning, planning and cons ...

project near Dagadarthi,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, intended to serve the Nellore district in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. The airport is to be developed on of land with an estimated cost of .

History

Planning

In 2008, the government of Andhra Pradesh invited for expressions of interest to develop eight minor airports in the state, including an airport at Nellore. Each airport was expected to cost . The airports were to be built in with a runway length of . The construction of this airport was chosen because Nellore is strategically situated between Vijayawada and Chennai, and

Krishnapatnam Port Krishnapatnam Port popularly known as KPCL is a privately built and owned all weather, deep water port on the east coast of India, located in the Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. It is located about 190 km north of the Chennai Port and ...

is situated about from the city. However, AAI has rejected this proposal citing insufficient land available for the construction of the airport. In 2013, Ministry of Civil Aviation had identified Nellore airport as one of the 50 locations across the country for low-cost airports to be built by the AAI. These airports would be built with bare minimum facilities for aircraft to operate, without compromising on safety and security. In September 2017, the government of Andhra Pradesh solicited proposals for development of a no-frills

at Dagadarthi under a public-private partnership. The development proposal by SCL-Turbo Consortium Pvt. Ltd. was accepted, along with the associated draft concession agreement and financial stipulations. The Arafath Group and ADP Ingénierie was to construct and operate the airport. SCL Turbo has formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) Nellore International Airport Private Limited for the construction.

Construction

The airport was to be developed on of land with an estimated cost of . The project had received all clearances and approvals from various agencies. As per the agreement, the financial closure for the project was to be achieved by December 2018. On January 26, 2018, during his

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

speech, the

District Collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

R. Mutyala Raju announced that the acquisition of land for the airport was nearly completed. The foundation stone was laid by then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on January 10, 2019. However, the

YSR Congress Party The Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP or YCP; ) is an Indian regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Its president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy serves as the state's chief minister. It is currently the fifth la ...

led government, which was elected in May that year, moved to review all the major decisions taken by the previous government. In August 2019, the new government terminated its contract with Nellore International Airport Private Limited to develop the airport. The government said it would complete the project by handing the airport over to the AAI. In July 2020, the government formally scrapped the concession agreement signed with the SCL Turbo consortium. Later in November same year, the government has invited fresh bids from national and international companies for the construction of the airport. After the government approved the report on Dec 21st 2021, It's expected that the first phase work could start as soon as April 2022.

References

{{authority control Airports in Andhra Pradesh Proposed airports in Andhra Pradesh Buildings and structures in Nellore district Transport in Nellore district