Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of 15 airport projects on Sunday, including 12 new terminal buildings during his visit to Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. The projects include 12 new terminal buildings for Pune, Kolhapur, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Delhi, Lucknow, Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Moradabad, Shravasti and Adampur airports, said a report by PTI news agency.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed reporters that it marked a historic moment, as for the first time in the last 75 years, 15 airports were either being opened or having their foundation stones laid on a single day.

After launching the multi-crore projects, PM Modi said, “Azamgarh, which was counted among the backward areas of the country, is today writing a new chapter of development for the country.”

“Today, the star of Azamgarh is shining. There was a time when there would be an event in Delhi and other states would join in. Today, the event is being held in Azamgarh and thousands of people from different parts of the country are connecting with Azamgarh,” Modi said while addressing a rally.

The PM said one must not link these projects with elections and added that he speeded up the development works to achieve the dream of a developed India by 2047. “I am running with speed and moving the country with speed to fulfill the promise of developed India by 2047,” he said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the people of Azamgarh are really lucky that PM Modi has visited them today. He said, “10 years ago, we all know what Azamgarh was famous for. It was a base of crime and mafia under the previous governments. However, PM Modi has come today to Azamgarh to launch several development projects.”

Under the expansion project of Terminal 1 (T1) of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, the terminal is set to undergo a series of trials before becoming fully operational in May. Currently, only a section of T1 is functioning, as it has been throughout the construction process that commenced in 2019.

T1 will continue its domestic operations once fully operational but the shifting of airlines to the new terminal is yet to be decided, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of three new terminal buildings for the airports in Kadapa, Hubballi and Belagavi.

A statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said the 12 new terminal buildings will have a combined capacity to serve 620 lakh passengers annually.

Further, once the three new terminals are completed, the airports will be able to accommodate 95 lakh passengers per year.

The terminal buildings have state-of-the-art passenger amenities and incorporate various sustainability features. These include a double-insulated roofing system, the provision of canopies for energy conservation, and the use of LED lighting, as mentioned in the statement.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of five major National Highway projects worth Rs 11,500 crore and 12 railway projects across Uttar Pradesh worth Rs 8,200 crore.

In total, PM Modi launched development projects worth more than Rs 42,000 crore across the country.

So far, in FY 2023-24, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has operationalized state-of-the-art new integrated terminal buildings at Chennai, Port Blair, Surat and Tiruchirappalli Airports.

Image source: PTI