Rajkot International Airport expected to be functional by August, Modi's big development push ahead of Gujarat polls

Rajkot (Gujarat) [India], April 1 (ANI): The Hirasar Airport or Rajkot Greenfield International Airport is expected to be functional by August this year, giving a huge push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of the 'Hawai Chappal to Hawai Jahaaz' initiative, according to Rajkot District Magistrate.
This airport which is located 30 kilometers from the industrial city of Rajkot, is being built in four phases covering an area of 1,032 hectares. It will have a total of 14 parking stands with an area of the passenger terminal of 23,000 square meters.
"There is very good progress in the construction work and this airport should be functional by August or September this year. About 85 percent of work on the runway is complete," the Rajkot District Magistrate, Arun Mahesh Babu told ANI.
He also informed that there are a total of 12 districts in the Saurashtra region will benefit from this new airport as the region is a huge hub for manufacturing activities which depends upon air connectivity.
"Our manufacturing products including silk products and ceramic products of the region can be transported faster with this airport also doubling up as a cargo airport," he stated.
Rajkot DM said that the airport will have seven boarding gates with three aerobridges and three conveyor belts.
"Since the airport will be international, there will be eight immigration counters along with two custom counters. At its peak, the airport will be able to handle a passenger load of over 1280 at a given time," he added.
The airport located on the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway will bring time and cost-related solutions to the logistics of different industries of the Saurashtra region in Gujarat.
Being built at a cost of Rs 1405 crore approved by the Modi government in 2018, Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of this project in October 2017.
The existing Rajkot Airport is in the heart of the city and is suffering from considerable capacity restraints due to the residential and commercial buildings around it. It is also incapable of serving aircrafts larger than airbus 320/Boing 737-800.
A total of 13 flights depart from the present Rajkot airport in a day to locations like Kolkata Delhi, Mumbai, Vizag, Goa among others.
"Once the new airport gets functional, the number of flights can be increased to up to seven in an hour. People of the region will get benefits from this airport for travel related to foreign tourism studies and visit by the NRI population who will now be able to come directly to the Saurashtra region instead of having to take multiple connecting flights," the Rajkot DM said.
BJP has been in power in Gujarat since 1995 and is presently seeking its sixth term in the state. Gujarat will go to the polls in December this year. (ANI)