GMR inks pact with Andhra govt to develop greenfield airport near Vizag

After two years of confusion, airport major GMR Infrastructure has signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to develop a greenfield airport at Bhogapuram, near the port city of Visakhapatnam. An agreement to this effect was inked on Friday in the presence of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and G B S Raju of GMR Group.

GMR won the bid by offering to pay Rs 303 per passenger fee; GVK had offered Rs 202. Reliance Airport Developers, Essel Infraprojects, Fairfast India Holdings, and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund had also participated in the bidding.

The project has been mired in allegations of financial kickbacks. In 2017, when the erstwhile government of Chandrababu Naidu called bids, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had emerged the winner by offering a 30.2 per cent revenue share.