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Govt pushes to complete, expand airports by March
According to an official, at least eight airports are to be inaugurated over the next two months — five in Uttar Pradesh, two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Punjab
The Union government is pushing for operations to start at eight new airports and construction works to begin for roughly a dozen more facilities or their expansion by March this year, officials aware of the matter have said, pegging the estimated cost of work in progress to be around ₹8,100 crore.
Among these is the crucial Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar, where the civil aviation ministry hopes the first trial flight will reach by March.
According to an official, at least eight airports are to be inaugurated over the next two months — five in Uttar Pradesh, two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Punjab.
The other projects include 13 new terminal buildings— two each are set to be unveiled in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat .
The foundation stone-laying ceremonies for airports in Jammu, Hubballi and Belgaum in Karnataka and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh are also scheduled to be held by March, the official said. Another important airport for Mumbai — the Navi Mumbai International Airport — is set to be inaugurated by December this year, he added.
“A few of these airports and terminal buildings are likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
The huge connectivity push assumes significance as the Centre is gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In Uttar Pradesh, airports are set to be inaugurated in Moradabad, Aligarh, Azamgarh, Saravasti and Chitrakoot. The most crucial airport is NIA in Jewar, which is set to serve the National Capital Region.
“The airport will see a test flight landing in the first week of March... At least 2,000 metres of the total 3,900-metre-long runway is ready and work to complete the remaining portion is in process. The terminal building is almost ready. The airport is aimed to be handed over to the AAI (Airports Authority of India) by April for installing instrument landing system (ILS) and other equipment,” a UP government official aware of the development said, requesting anonymity.
“Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is scheduled to visit the airport to review its progress in the second week of February,” he added.
The official, however, said that the first phase of the airport is expected to be inaugurated by October. Besides, new terminal buildings are scheduled to be inaugurated at the Lucknow airport in Uttar Pradesh, and Rewa, Datia, Jabalpur and Gwalior airports in Madhya Pradesh.
“Gwalior’s new terminal has been completed and is ready for inauguration in a record 15 months,” a government official said. Similarly, new terminal buildings will also be inaugurated in Arunachal Pradesh’s Hollongi, Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur, Punjab’s Adampur, Hyderabad’s Vijayawada and Gujarat’s Hirasar airports, he added.
“The ₹ 400-crore Civil Aviation Research Organisation (CARO) in Hyderabad, being built to carry out research on the latest technological advancements in the aviation sector, is also expected to be inaugurated before March,” the official said.
