Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday virtually inaugurated the new integrated terminal building of the Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the prime minister’s office said. 

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who reached the airport, unveiled a statue of VD Savarkar on the premises and took a tour of the establishment. The terminal building is shaped like a shell, depicting the natural environs of the islands. The entire terminal will have 100% natural lighting for 12 hours a day aided by skylights on the roof. 

Due to a surge in passenger traffic, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had constructed the new terminal at an estimated cost of  ₹707.73 crore. 

'Till now the existing terminal had the capacity to handle 4,000 tourists, and the new terminal has taken this number to 11,000 and 10 planes can be parked at any given time on the airport now," PM Modi said. More flights and tourists will bring more jobs to the area, he said. 

“Port Blair’s new terminal building will increase Ease of Travel, Ease of Doing Business and connectivity," the prime minister added. “In the last nine years, the present government has not only rectified the mistakes of the governments of the past with utmost sensitivity but also come up with a new system," he said. 

“For a long time in India, development was only restricted to the big cities due to the selfish politics by some parties, which led to tribal and island regions being deprived of development," he added. 

With a total built-up area of 40,837 sq metres, the new terminal building will have the capacity to handle 1,200 passengers during peak hours and around 40 lakh passengers annually. The three-storied building will be equipped with 28 check-in counters, three passenger boarding bridges and four conveyor belts. 

Image Source: TOI