Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, marking the opening of a greenfield facility developed at a cost of Rs 50 billion (Rs 50 bn). The airport has been presented as a new aviation hub for the north coastal region and as a catalyst for connectivity and economic growth.

The facility, developed by GMR Group, will begin commercial operations from August 17 and has an initial annual passenger handling capacity of six million (six mn), with plans to expand to 40 mn in later phases. It is the second greenfield airport to become operational this year after Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, and the Andhra Pradesh government has described it as a key infrastructure project for industrial development, employment generation and exports.

Spread over 2,200 acres, the airport was built under a public–private partnership by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Ltd using a design, build, finance, operate and transfer model and forms part of a broader integrated development spanning 2,703.26 acres. That integrated area comprises the airport across 2,203.32 acres, a 500-acre aviation hub and an aviation university and EduCity across 136.63 acres, together with airside infrastructure, commercial and residential developments and approach roads. GMR Airports Ltd said the project was completed several months ahead of schedule and noted that Bhogapuram is its third greenfield airport after Hyderabad and Goa.

In a series of concurrent initiatives, the Prime Minister dedicated and laid foundations for projects totalling Rs 180 billion (Rs 180 bn), including a semiconductor plant with an estimated investment of Rs 4.6 billion (Rs 4.6 bn) that is expected to manufacture 96 million (96 mn) chips annually. Transmission schemes for renewable energy integration were announced at investments of about Rs 55.5 billion (Rs 55.5 bn), Rs 35.5 billion (Rs 35.5 bn) and about Rs 8.2 billion (Rs 8.2 bn), and highway projects and a high-level bridge were launched at an outlay of around Rs 18.8 billion (Rs 18.8 bn), which officials said will improve regional connectivity and support the energy transition.