PM Narendra Modi likely to inaugurate 15 airport projects on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to inaugurate 15 airport projects, including new terminals in Delhi and Lucknow, on Sunday, as the general elections draw nearer, sources familiar with the development said.

The PM is likely to lay the foundation of new terminals in Hubli, Kadappa and Belgavi in Karnataka. He is also expected to inaugurate new airport terminals in Adampur, Punjab and Pune, Maharashtra, sources mentioned.

In Uttar Pradesh, the PM is expected to inaugurate airport projects in Chitrakoot, Moradabad, Aligardh, Shravasti and Azamgarh, sources said. “India is going to get 1,500 planes in the next 10 years. The government is expanding the airports across the country so that they can handle the rising demand,” a source mentioned.

The PM will also inaugurate the expanded T1 terminal at the Delhi airport. The T1 terminal has been under expansion in parts since 2019. The new T1 terminal is expected to have aerobridges, which were absent in the old terminal. The upcoming terminal will have a capacity of 40 million passengers per year, double that of the old terminal. The Delhi airport is run by the GMR Group-led Delhi International Airport Limited.

The Adani Group, which runs the Lucknow airport, has also built a new terminal. It would be handling about 13 million passengers per year, which is about three times that of the old terminal.

Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia has previously stated that the government is focused on increasing the number of airports and heliports in the country from about 150 to over 200 in the next five years.