New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Wednesday approved the expansion of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, with an outlay of Rs 2,870 crore.
The expansion, which will be funded by Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) internal resources, will include construction of a new terminal building, apron extension, runway extension, parallel taxi track and allied works.
Varanasi is PM Modi’s parliamentary constituency. He won the Lok Sabha seat from the seat for the third time in a row in the recently concluded elections, with a margin of 1,52,513 votes.
Speaking at a press conference post the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the airport is almost running at full capability of handling 39 lakh passengers per annum, hence the decision to expand it has been taken.
Post the expansion, the airport’s capacity will more than double to 99 lakh passengers per annum.
“Kashi is a city which is becoming a traction point for the world…there is a lot of potential for tourism, pilgrimage and economic activity… The project will include building of a new terminal, runway expansion and developing the highway as an underpass to give full length to the runway,” he said, adding that the project will be funded fully via AAI’s internal resources.
“The terminal will be developed as a project to showcase culture of India (Bharat ki Sanskriti)…you have seen that railway terminals and airport terminals…are a medium to showcase India’s culture as well as preserve India’s heritage,” the minister, who also holds portfolios for Railways and Electronics and IT, said.
Vaishnaw added that the airport will be developed as a green airport to ensure minimum consumption of energy and that, too, using solar energy.
As per the official statement, the New Terminal Building, which encompasses an area of 75,000 sqm is designed for a capacity of 6 MPPA (million passenger per annum) and for handling 5,000 Peak Hour Passengers (PHP). It is designed to offer a glimpse of the vast cultural heritage of the city.
The proposal, it added, includes extending the runway to the dimensions 4,075m x 45m and constructing a new apron to park 20 aircraft.
“Varanasi airport will be developed as a green airport with the primary objective of ensuring environmental sustainability through energy optimisation, waste recycling, carbon footprint reduction, solar energy utilisation, and incorporation of natural daylighting, alongside other sustainable measures throughout the planning, development, and operational stages,” the statement added.
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