On March 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 15 airport projects, among them, new terminals in Delhi and Lucknow, totaling approximately Rs 9,800 crore, coinciding with the approaching general elections. These projects included 12 new passenger terminals at various airports across the country, namely Pune, Kolhapur, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Delhi, Lucknow, Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Moradabad, Shravasti, and Adampur. Additionally, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for three new passenger buildings at Kadapa, Hubballi, and Belagavi airports.
During his three-day visit to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, which commenced on March 8, Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated several other infrastructure projects. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently announced a planned investment of Rs 1 lakh crore to augment the number of airports from 148 to 200 within the next four years. This investment encompasses the construction of new airports, expansion of existing ones, and enhancements to allied infrastructure such as Air Traffic Control.
Furthermore, efforts are underway to expand the capacity of the GMR-owned Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, which includes integrating the previously separate sections for arrivals and departures into a single revamped Terminal 1, thereby doubling the airport’s capacity from 20 million to 40 million passengers annually. The Adani Group, operating the Lucknow airport, has also constructed a new terminal with the capability to handle approximately 13 million passengers annually, significantly surpassing the capacity of the previous terminal.
Additionally, the Adani Group has undertaken a Rs 3,600-crore project to construct a new terminal at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, which will accommodate 3,200 domestic and 800 international passengers simultaneously, projecting an annual passenger capacity of 1.30 crore, a substantial increase from the current 43 lakh annual passengers at the existing airport.
As part of his ‘Viksit Bharat Viksit North East’ initiative on March 9 in Arunachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi unveiled various development initiatives across Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh spanning diverse sectors including rail, road, health, housing, education, border infrastructure, IT, power, oil, and gas.