PM Modi to inaugurate Bhogapuram airport; to launch projects worth Rs 18,000 cr in Andhra Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Rs 5,000 crore Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram in Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagaram district on Saturday and launch infrastructure projects worth nearly Rs 18,000 crore across the state.

Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the airport terminal at about 11 a.m. before inspecting the facility with Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. He will later travel to a public meeting, where more than 13,500 tribal women and students are expected to welcome him with a Dhimsa dance performance.

The airport, designed to handle six million passengers annually in its first phase, has a planned expansion capacity of 40 million passengers a year. According to the government, it features artificial intelligence, Building Information Modelling, Airside 4.0 systems, an Airport Predictive Operations Centre and biometric passenger processing.

The terminal's design draws on Andhra Pradesh's cultural heritage, with architectural elements inspired by traditional Chuttilu cottages and the Araku Valley landscape.

During the visit, Modi will also lay the foundation stone for Andhra Pradesh's first semiconductor manufacturing facility under the India Semiconductor Mission. The Rs 460 crore project at Visakhapatnam, being developed by ASIP Technologies Pvt Ltd in partnership with South Korea's APACT, is expected to produce about 96 million semiconductor chips annually.

The prime minister will also launch and lay foundation stones for power transmission projects, including the Rs 5,550 crore Kurnool-IV Renewable Energy Zone Phase-I transmission system and other transmission schemes worth more than Rs 4,300 crore to integrate wind and solar energy projects.

In addition, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for National Highway projects worth more than Rs 1,880 crore, including the Recherla-Guruvaygudem section of NH-365 BG and a high-level bridge at Lingasamudram on the Penchalakona-Yerpedu section of NH-565.

The highway projects are expected to ease congestion, improve road safety, reduce travel time between Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, and strengthen regional connectivity, according to official statements.

(Inputs from PTI)