Foundation stone laid for upgradation of Jabalpur Airport

The foundation stone for the upgradation of Jabalpur Airport was laid by Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday, in the presence of Jayant Sinha, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation.

The expansion of Jabalpur Airport is being done in a bid to provide better services to the air passengers of the region.

Addressing the gathering, Prabhu said, "Today, Madhya Pradesh has become the heart of our country. But where is the heart of Madhya Pradesh? It is Jabalpur. I feel a sense of delight whenever I get an opportunity to work for the state of Madhya Pradesh."

"We are working in the line of achieving the dream of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He wants every Indian to connect and every Indian to fly. When we came to power in 2014, our country had 75 airports and the number has grown to 102 airports in last four years. We have 27 new airports in last four years," added Sinha.

Jabalpur is a growing industrial city with promising tourism options. Therefore, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), under the guidance of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, is committed to develop airport infrastructure in the country.

AAI anticipated the rise in passenger traffic and consequently proposed the expansion plan to accommodate larger aircraft and upgradation of the terminal with modern facilities.

Jabalpur Airport will be developed at a total cost of Rs. 413 crore. The newly-transformed airport will include the construction of a new domestic passenger terminal building with enhanced peak hour handing capacity of 500 passengers, significantly higher than the existing 150 passenger limit.

With increased runway length of 2750 meters with turning pad, the airport will be suitable for operations of A-320 type of aircraft.

Anuj Aggarwal, Member (HR), Airports Authority of India told ANI, "We have been upgrading many airports and launching new flights as per our regional connectivity Scheme called UDAN. Almost all airlines have ordered new aircrafts and in the next 8-10 years some 1,000 new aircrafts will be there. These aircrafts will connect some of the cities."

"As per this expansion, we have been developing airports in Jabalpur and Indore. There are many other airports like Chennai, Guwahati, Pune Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The work of their expansion has already begun," he added.

The proposed terminal building with an area of 9350 Sqm will welcome the passengers with world-class facilities and glimpses of vibrant Gond paintings, local handicrafts, murals and popular tourist destinations of Madhya Pradesh.

The new building will be built with eco-friendly sustainable material and equipped with solar photovoltaic system and energy efficient equipment.

An efficient solid waste management system, reuse of treated water for horticulture purposes and rain water harvesting system with sustainable urban drainage system are few other green features of the airport upgradation project.

The new upgraded Jabalpur airport will play a pivotal role in the development of Jabalpur city and will boost tourism in the region.