The relationship between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and the GMR Group appears to be very strong. So strong that after the bifurcation of the state, when the Bhogapuram International Airport project was initially awarded to the public sector Airports Authority of India (AAI), that tender was cancelled and fresh tenders were called. At that time, there were widespread allegations that this entire exercise was done solely to ensure that the project went to GMR Airports. Even though officials from the finance department at the time raised serious objections to the tender conditions, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu went ahead exactly as he intended. Officials later revealed that the Bhogapuram airport project was ensured for GMR. The then opposition leader and former Chief Minister Jagan strongly opposed this deal, alleging large-scale corruption in it, and later reduced the land allotted to the project by 500 acres, yet still allotted the airport project to GMR.
There are also allegations that many dealings took place behind the scenes for this. After the TDP came to power for the second time, the 500 acres that were cut during Jagan’s tenure were handed back to GMR under various pretexts. All this is an old story. Now, the coalition government led by Chandrababu has decided to do yet another favour to the same GMR. There is no tender, and so far no government orders have officially come out, but on Tuesday in Visakhapatnam, Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu and Andhra Pradesh IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh are set to inaugurate the GMR Mansas Aviation Education City. How trust lands are being given to a private company, how much lease is being charged for them, and whether additional government land will be allotted later to this GMR Mansas Aviation Education City—none of these details have been disclosed, and everything is being carried out quietly without transparency.
However, the government is officially stating that it is launching the country’s first Aviation, Aerospace and Defence (AAD) EduCity at Bhogapuram. The government has said that the aviation, aerospace and defence sectors are growing rapidly in the country, and that passenger traffic across 200 airports nationwide is estimated to reach 700 million. By 2030, this number is expected to double to 1,700 million. The government stated that the aerospace and defence market value, which stood at 28.7 billion dollars in 2024, is expected to grow to 57 billion dollars by 2034. It also said that this initiative would greatly help address the shortage of skilled human resources in the aviation sector. The AAD Education City is set to emerge as the country’s first integrated education and innovation centre. The proposed Aviation, Aerospace and Defence (AAD) Education City near the Bhogapuram International Airport is the country’s first integrated education and innovation hub dedicated to the AAD sector. World-renowned universities are expected to come here, and international branch campuses (IBCs) of globally reputed universities will be established.
Advanced research and innovation centres will focus on applied technologies. Incubation and prototyping facilities will be provided to promote collaboration with startups and industries. Residential and social infrastructure will be developed to create a vibrant and self-sustaining ecosystem. This Education City will function as a national capability platform in line with the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), NEP-2020, Make in India, and Defence Corridor objectives. The goal of this Education City is to make Andhra Pradesh, as well as India, a global leader in aviation and aerospace education and innovation. The EduCity campus will be built over 160 acres. While it is being stated as 160 acres initially, official sources say that this could later expand to 500 acres. A few days ago, Minister Nara Lokesh met GMR representatives in Delhi and held discussions on this project. Now, along with Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, Nara Lokesh is set to inaugurate this project on Tuesday. Official circles are also commenting that while Chandrababu handed over the Bhogapuram airport project to GMR, his son and minister Nara Lokesh is now handing over the Aviation Education City to the same company. What the underlying motives are behind this may come to light in the coming days.