Connectivity Woes May Haunt B’Puram Airport

If the authorities are serious, let them start without dilly-dallying on launching widening the national highway to 80 meters from Anakapalli to Anandapuram - G Sambasiva Rao, president, Visakhapatnam Stevedores’ Association

Visakhapatnam: Even as the GMR Group is sweating out to meet the revised deadline of March 2026 to make the Bhogapuram International Airport operational, the lack of adequate planning to improve connectivity to reach the airport from the city and its periphery is worrying various sections of fliers.

Once the greenfield becomes operational, Visakhapatnam International Airport, a civil enclave located on INS Dega Air Station of the Indian Navy, within a few months will stop use of its space for operating commercial flights. As on today, no final decision has been taken to kick-start work on the much-hyped 80-meter widening of the national highway passing through various parts of the city, the six-lane coastal corridor for which the Centre has pledged to fund to connect the Bhogapuram International Airport, about 45 km from here to the Visakhapatnam Port and developing 12 flyovers to decongest traffic. There is a widespread feeling that once the Bhogapuram International Airport is thrown open to commercial traffic, reaching the airport from the city and industrial clusters like Kurmannapalem, Atchutapuram, Parawada, Anakapalle and Nakkapalli may cost more towards taxi fare than the airfare itself.

After successfully commissioning Hyderabad International Airport and Delhi International Airport, GMR Group has been set a target to complete the first phase by March 2026. It is scheduled to be completed by December 2026.

GMR Group is investing Rs 4,500 crore on the first phase of the smart airport project by awarding the EPC contract to L&T. GMR Group Business Chairman GBS Raju told a CII meeting recently that work on the project is going at a fast pace. It has plans to achieve a capacity to handle 40 million passengers a year in a phased manner.

“If the authorities are serious, let them start without dilly-dallying on launching widening the national highway to 80 meters from Anakapalli to Anandapuram touching Lankalapalem, Gajuwaka, NAD, Maddilapalem by NHAI to make it a 12-lane road with scope to make it 16-lane road,” G Sambasiva Rao, president, Visakhapatnam Stevedores’ Association told Bizz Buzz.

He said this road should be operational on a fast-track mode to make it a lifeline with easy connectivity to the proposed coast corridor. “I also suggest exploring ferrying passengers through ships from the city to the nearest landing point in the sea to the airport coming up at Bhogapuram. Synchronisation of traffic signals at various places is also another key factor needing attention to ensure hassle-free traffic,” he added.

On average, the vehicle population in the city is increasing by 10,000 to 11,000 per month on the city periphery, according to a study. Moreover, being home to two ports, the city also handles a lot of heavy vehicles unlike Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

When contacted, Visakha Air Travellers’ Association (VATA) vice-president O Naresh Kumar, said time is running out and people want that the tenders for coastal corridor and metro rail are finalised soon with required clearances to meet the requirement in view of heavy jam being caused on the highway as well as the beach road during morning and evening hours.

“At this rate, the airfare will be far less than cab fare if one wants to reach Bhogapuram International Airport to catch a flight on time,” he remarked, adding the time for closure of Visakhapatnam International Airport should be extended till Bhogapuram becomes fully operational with adequate provision for reliable connectivity. Or else, he pointed out, people will prefer to travel to Hyderabad by the high-speed train from Visakhapatnam which will take a journey time of four hours.

K Vijay Mohan, president of Tours and Travel Association of Andhra (TTAA), said, “As the government of India focuses on regional air connectivity and UDAAN for rendering access to flights to common man, efficient public transport is required to ensure more footfall for Bhogapuram International Airport.”