Dagadarthi Airport Still Awaits Approved Bids: Centre
The state government floated fresh tenders on September 5, 2025, followed by second and third rounds on March 5, 2026, and May 29, 2026, respectively. However, the Centre said no bids had been approved so far, leaving the project's construction timeline uncertain.
Nellore: The proposed greenfield airport at Dagadarthi in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district continues to face delays, with the Union government informing Parliament that no bids have been approved for the project despite multiple rounds of tendering.
Replying to a question raised by Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the Centre had granted in-principle approval for the airport in 2016.
The Andhra Pradesh government first invited tenders on June 7, 2016, under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, and a concession agreement was signed in June 2018. However, the agreement was terminated in 2020 after the selected bidder failed to achieve financial closure.
The state government floated fresh tenders on September 5, 2025, followed by second and third rounds on March 5, 2026, and May 29, 2026, respectively. However, the Centre said no bids had been approved so far, leaving the project's construction timeline uncertain.
The ministry clarified that, under the Greenfield Airports Policy, implementation of the project rests with the airport developer and the Andhra Pradesh government. It added that the commencement and completion of the airport depend on factors such as land acquisition, statutory clearances and financial closure. As a result, no definite timeline for the project's completion could be indicated.