Kuppam Airport Gets Centre’s Site Clearance
The Union ministry of civil aviation has given site clearance for the proposed airports at Kuppam: Reports
TIRUPATI: The Union ministry of civil aviation has given site clearance for the proposed airports at Kuppam in Chittoor district and the one at Srikakulam, allowing the state government to move ahead with its construction plans.
The government has identified 1,788 acres for the Kuppam Kuppam airport and has acquired 1,300 acres. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost `734 crore, while the expenditure for developing the airport in two phases of the Kuppam airport has been pegged at `1,142.10 crore.
The government has proposed spending `198.75 crore on land acquisition at Kuppam and `146 crore on infrastructure development. With the site clearance in place, the next step will be to finalise the development model and take up the process for selecting an agency to execute the project.
The AP Airports Development Corporation (APADCL) has submitted proposals to the government on the possible models for developing the airport. The government is examining whether to adopt the landlord model, under which it retains full ownership, or take up the project through the public private partnership (PPP) route.
A senior APADCL official said the government would communicate its decision to MoCA and issue a request for proposals (RFP) after finalising the development model.
Kuppam was among nine locations identified by the state government for airport development. The overall proposal involves an estimated investment of `6,418 crore. The other proposed locations are Amaravati, Nagarjunasagar, Tuni-Annavaram, Tadepalligudem, Ongole, Anantapur and Dagadarthi.