AP Cabinet approves Dagadarthi greenfield airport at Nellore

In a significant boost to Andhra Pradesh’s aviation and industrial infrastructure, the state Cabinet on Friday approved the Dagadarthi Greenfield Airport project in Nellore district.

With this decision, Dagadarthi will become Andhra Pradesh’s eighth airport , reinforcing the state’s vision of building a future-ready, multimodal logistics and industrial network , officials said.

Strategically located, the proposed airport enjoys strong connectivity to National Highway corridors , two major ports Krishnapatnam Port and the upcoming Ramayapatnam Port and key industrial clusters such as Krishnapatnam Industrial Smart City and Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited Special Economic Zones . Officials said this locational advantage positions the airport as a key enabler for manufacturing, exports, agri-logistics and services-led growth in southern Andhra Pradesh.

The project has received in-principle clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) . The state government has also issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) inviting private participation for development, operation and maintenance under a long-term concession framework . Planned in phases, the airport will come up on 1,332.80 acres , with Phase-I designed to handle 1.4 million passengers annually , scalable to 15 million in the long term. A future cargo facility is also planned.

Currently, Andhra Pradesh has seven operational airports Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati (international), Rajahmundry, Kadapa and Kurnool (domestic), and the private Sri Sathya Sai Airport at Puttaparthi . Of these, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati handle the bulk of passenger traffic , while Kadapa, Kurnool and Rajahmundry continue to record low utilisation , aviation officials said.

Limited flight frequencies, smaller catchment areas, higher operating costs and airline preference for larger hubs have affected the viability of several regional airports, despite their development under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme . As a result, passengers often depend on Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport as an alternative gateway, particularly when direct flights to Chennai are unavailable due to weather disruptions, slot congestion or peak demand.

In addition, Donakonda airport and Nagarjuna Sagar airport remain non-operational for commercial services , while the Bhogapuram International Airport near Visakhapatnam is under construction and expected to become operational soon.

Officials said projects such as Dagadarthi and Bhogapuram are aimed at strengthening Andhra Pradesh’s own aviation network, improving regional connectivity and reducing long-term dependence on neighbouring state hubs.