Visakhapatnam | Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Rs 5,000 crore Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport built at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.
The modern facility is being viewed by the state government as a transformational asset for the entire North Andhra region.
Around 11 am, the PM will inaugurate the airport terminal building and subsequently inspect the facility along with Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
He will then proceed to a public meeting venue in an open-top vehicle, where more than 13,500 tribal women and students will greet him with a grand Dhimsa dance performance.
The airport was conceived as a catalyst for industrial growth, employment generation, exports, skill development and research, an official press release said.
Designed to handle six million passengers annually in the first phase, the airport also has a master plan to expand the capacity to 40 million passengers annually.
According to a PIB press release, the airport is equipped with advanced technologies such as AI, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Airside 4.0 technologies, Airport Predictive Operations Centre (APOC) and biometric passenger processing, among others.
Its architectural design draws inspiration from the cultural heritage of Andhra Pradesh, with the terminal's roof profile reflecting the traditional Chuttilu cottages and the landscapes of the Araku Valley, while its flowing form symbolises the graceful movement of a flying fish.
The PM will also lay the foundation for and inaugurate projects worth nearly Rs 18,000 crore in the southern state.
He will lay the foundation stone for a Rs 460 crore ASIP Semiconductor Project at Visakhapatnam, being developed by ASIP Technologies Pvt Ltd in partnership with APACT, Republic of Korea.
This is Andhra Pradesh's first semiconductor manufacturing facility approved under the India Semiconductor Mission, which will manufacture around 96 million semiconductor chips annually and foster a robust ancillary ecosystem to support semiconductor manufacturing, said the press release.
Likewise, Modi will lay the foundation stone for the Transmission System for integration of Kurnool-IV Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) - Phase-I (4.5 GW), being implemented by POWERGRID through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) at an investment of about Rs 5,550 crore.
He will inaugurate the transmission system for Kurnool Wind Energy Zone and Solar Energy Zone (Andhra Pradesh) – Part A & Part B, implemented at a cost of around Rs 3,550 crore.
PM Modi will inaugurate the transmission scheme for Solar Energy Zone in Ananthapuram (2,500 MW) and Kurnool (1,000 MW), implemented by POWERGRID at a cost of over Rs 820 crore, the release added.
Further, he will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone for National Highway (NH) projects worth over Rs 1,880 crore. The projects include the four-lane access-controlled greenfield highway from Recherla to Guruvaygudem section of NH-365 BG.
The PM will lay the foundation stone for a high-level bridge at Lingasamudram on the Penchalakona–Yerpedu section of NH-565.
These projects will ease congestion in Vijayawada and several other cities, improve road safety, reduce travel distance and travel time between Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, and promote regional connectivity, the press release added.