Andhra Pradesh keen on exploring aviation-based investment

Andhra Pradesh Industries, IT and Aviation Minister Mekapati Goutham on Friday said the State is keen on encouraging PPP model of investments into aviation based projects.

During a conference with Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotirditya Scindia, he said the State is positioned to support wide range aviation-based investment as per the vision of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Accordingly, the State has formed a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle for airport development named as

AP Airports Development Corporation Ltd. (APADCL) for speedy implementation of aviation plan and ensuring that airports are well-connected to the road, rail and possibly sea connectivity via ports in close proximity and aim to build multi-modal cargo hubs to drive industrial and economic development.

Reddy said GoAP's vision is to make AP a preferred destination for investors/developers in the aviation sector by 2030 by developing aviation and its related supporting infrastructure and provide an enabling framework for facilitating Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the development and operations.

The Minister later told reporters that they are awaiting NOC for Bhogapuram International Airport, night landing facility at Kadapa and point of call at Tirupati and Vijayawada. Reddy also interacted with Union IT Minister Rajiv Chandrasekhar on the work from home and other initiatives. The Union Minister, he said expressed interest to study the concept and sought support for setting up of data and cloud centres.

Aerospace manufacturing

Earlier, in the meeting with Scindia, Reddy said a related focus area of the State is the development of aerospace and defense manufacturing facilities as part of the aviation eco-system in order to leverage the opportunity created by the Government of India's 'Make in India' initiative. GoAP is keen to provide all

necessary support and incentives required to develop the manufacturing eco-system for A&D units in the State & some of the upcoming defense & aerospace facilities in Andhra are: Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited's Greenfield

aluminium alloy production Plant at Bodduvaripalem in Nellore district, advanced night vision devices project at

BEL Nimmakuru, Krishna district and missile integration facility by BEL at Palasamudram, Anantapur, VLF (Very Low Frequency) Transmission Facility at Prakasam by Indian Navy and helicopter training facility at Donakonda in Prakasam district by Air Force.

MRO facility and air cargo complex planned at proposed Bhogapuram Mega Aerotropolis. Cyber Security Operations Center is proposed at Visakhapatnam by DRDO and a missile testing facility is planned at Nagayalanka, Krishna district by DRDO.

Out of five Airport Authority of India (AAI) airports, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada & Tirupati are international airports and the other airports are at Rajahmundry & Kadapa (domestic airports) which have witnessed above five million passenger traffic & handled cargo of around 12,135 MT in 2019-20. Covid badly hit their performance later.

Reddy said AP is focusing on cluster-based development with sub-sector focus on defense cluster in Prakasam, defense electronics & OEMs in Anantapur, propulsion systems, space park in Nellore, MRO in Visakhapatnam, developing ancillaries to BEL at Anantapur and Machilipatnam and upcoming MIDHANI at Nellore.

The GoAP has allotted 900 acres to BEL at Palasamudram, Anantapur district. The project civil works are yet to start. The project will be expedited soon considering its strategic importance.