Modi govt approved construction of 21 greenfield airports in India: President Kovind

The country's biggest airport is coming up at Gautam Buddha Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, President Kovind said.

Noida International Airport

On January 31, President Ram Nath Kovind in his speech said that the Modi government has accorded approval for the construction of 21 greenfield airports in the country. Among them, the country's biggest airport is coming up at Gautam Buddha Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, he said in his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh had in December 2021 told Parliament that the Civil Aviation Ministry has so far accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country in places such as Mopa (Goa), Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga in Karnataka.

The greenfield airports will also come up in Datia (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram, and Oravackal in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh, Singh noted.

Kovind said, "A new airport is being set up at Hollongi, Itanagar. A modern new terminal has recently been opened at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Tripura. This development of the North East will prove to be a golden chapter in India's growth story."

The president further said that a new era of development in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Ladakh region has begun and the commencement of international flights on the Srinagar-Sharjah route is a part of this. 

With inputs from PTI