PM Modi to launch development initiatives and airport projects in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a number of development initiatives, including multiple airport projects across the country worth over Rs 6,100 crore, during his visit to Varanasi on Sunday.

PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for the expansion of airport runway and construction of a new terminal building and allied work of the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, costing around Rs 2,870 crore. He will also inaugurate the RJ Sankara Eye Hospital in the holy town, the PMO in a statement said on Saturday.

He will lay the foundation stone of a new civil enclave at the Agra airport worth more than Rs 570 crore, at Darbhanga airport worth around Rs 910 crore, and at Bagdogra airport worth around Rs 1,550 crore, it said.

The prime minister will inaugurate new terminal buildings of airports in Rewa, Ambikapur, and Saharanpur being constructed at the cost of more than Rs 220 crore.

The combined passenger handling capacity of these airports will increase to more than 2.3 crore passengers annually.

The designs of these airports are influenced and derived from the common elements of heritage structures of the region, the statement said.

Among other projects, PM Modi will inaugurate phases 2 and 3 of the redevelopment of Varanasi Sports Complex worth over Rs 210 crore under the Khelo India scheme and the Smart City mission.

The project includes the construction of a state-of-the-art sports complex featuring a National Centre of Excellence, players' hostels, sports science centre, practice fields for various sports, indoor shooting ranges, and combat sports arenas.

He will also inaugurate a 100-bed girls' and boys' hostel and a public pavilion at the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Sports Stadium in Lalpur, it said.

He will inaugurate tourism development projects in Buddhism-related areas in Sarnath. These enhancements include the construction of pedestrian-friendly streets, new sewer lines and upgraded drainage system, and a zone with modern designer vending carts to promote local handicraft vendors.

PM Modi will also inaugurate initiatives like tourism development work at the Banasur Temple and Gurudham Temple, and beautification and redevelopment of parks, the statement added.