VIJAYAWADA: Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana underlined that the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government is constructing Bhogapuram international greenfield airport over 2,300 acres of land against the 12,000 acres proposed by the Telugu Desam regime.
Addressing the media here on Thursday, Satyanarayana alleged that former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had tried to rob lands of farmers by proposing to acquire 12,000 acres. “Naidu had also created a political stunt by setting the foundation stone for the Bhogapuram airport,” he noted.
The minister maintained that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has stood by farmers by drastically reducing land acquisition. He underlined that Bhogapuram green field airport will change the face of North Andhra region, particularly Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts. The Chief Minister is aiming to complete construction of the international airport in about 30 months. The management of the airport construction company has also publicly announced that they will start the first flight from Bhogapuram by December 2025.
Satyanarayana maintained that this is a good augury, particularly when Visakhapatnam is becoming the administrative capital of Andhra Pradesh in the coming days,
He refuted Naidu’s allegations that the Chief Minister is changing his stance. He said that Jagan Mohan Reddy has repeatedly said that he is developing the state in a transparent manner without corruption.
In this context, the minister pointed out that other airports, including Chennai, do not need 12,000 acres. But the Naidu government had conspired to rob most of this land, whose acquisition Jagan Mohan Reddy had opposed as leader of opposition. Today, as the Chief Minister, he is constructing Bhogapuram airport over 2,300 acres, thereby helping the farmers.
