Cabinet approves Rs. 5,082 crore for Lucknow, Chennai, Guwahati airports

New Delhi [India], May 2 (ANI): The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a sum of Rs. 5,082 crore for the purpose of up gradation and expansion of the airport infrastructure at Lucknow, Chennai, and Guwahati airports.

The Lucknow airport will have an area of 88,000 square meters along with the existing terminal building extending up to 16.292 square meters. The expanded portion will be able to accommodate 2.6 million international and 11 million domestic passengers, as per a press release issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Further, the terminal building is expected to cater to the requirements of passenger growth between 2030-31.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu said, "The new terminal building in Lucknow will have an annual capacity of 1.36 crore passengers and will cater to the passenger growth requirements. It will be built at a cost of Rs. 1232 crore and will be a major force multiplier towards UP's growth."

Further six new airports in Lucknow will be functional by the end of 2018 at Azamgarh, Kushinagar, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, and Chitrakoot.

The Chennai airport will also have an additional terminal building spreading across 3, 36,000 square as per the proposal which shall be able to handle 35 million passengers per year.

Further, the new terminal building will incorporate green building features with an aim to achieve GRIHA-4 star rating.

The Guwahati airport in Assam will feature a new terminal building with an area of 1,02, 500 square kilometres. It is being expanded to cater to the expected growth in the footfall by 2016-27.

The expansion of the Guwahati airport is expected to encourage investment and tourism in the North-eastern region and provide an impetus to the 'Act East' policy.

Union Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha, " The Cabinet has given approval for three main aviation projects. For the first time we have national civil aviation projects. We have changed the design paradigm of airports. There has been innovation in the private sector. We will be building terminal and airports that will reflect our heritage. We have consulted the architects and the design council of India."

Further the chairman of the Airports Authority of India, Guruprasad Mohapatra said, "The airports are expected to come up by the end of March 2020. The airports are designed in such a manner that they are able to be economic friendly. We have earmarked 20,178 crores from 2018 onwards to 2019-20."

Delhi-Bangalore-Hyderabad, Agartala, Calicut, Port Blaire and Guwhati were mentioned in the press conference.

The up-gradation projects are being conducted under the Union government's initiative of NextGen Airports for Bharat to enable the airports to handle one billion trips in the next 10-15 years.

Further, the Uttar Pradesh state government is training the Pilots, Ground Handling Professionals, Cabin Crew, IT and Support service professionals. The State Government will promote aviation-related courses in institutes across states. (ANI)