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GMR Group, the Indian infrastructure company founded by billionaire G.M. Rao, is developing a 500-acre aviation and aerospace hub in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, as it builds a new international airport near the port city of Visakhapatnam.
Rao, the group's chairman, announced the project on Nov. 12 at the Confederation of Indian Industry's Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam, the 31st edition of the investment conference, which was attended by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Rao highlighted the role of airports in driving regional economic growth.
GMR is building the Bhogapuram International Airport, north of Visakhapatnam, to replace the city's existing airport, a civil terminal on a naval air base. Rao told the summit he had kept his word on delivering Bhogapuram.
Building cities around airports
The aerospace hub is part of a wider push by GMR to develop land around the airports it runs. In July, the group said it planned aerocity projects covering about 1,500 acres around its major airports.
Airport-linked land has become a large source of revenue for Indian airport operators, which earn rental income from commercial developments that sit outside the regulated aeronautical business. Aerospace hubs typically host maintenance, repair and overhaul shops, component makers and training centers.
The Andhra Pradesh government has been courting aviation investment. In December 2025, it signed an agreement to set up an integrated aviation, aerospace and defense education city to train skilled workers for the industry.
From jute mill to airports
GMR Airports Ltd. runs New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, India's busiest, as well as Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and the Manohar International Airport in Goa. Abroad, the group has airport interests in the Philippines, Greece and Indonesia.
Rao started out in business in the 1970s in his home state, running a jute mill, before moving into infrastructure, power and airports. He remains group chairman. Forbes counts him and his family among India's billionaires.
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