The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved on Wednesday the construction of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi, as proposed by the Airports Authority of India.
The cabinet also approved the development of a new terminal building, an apron extension, a runway extension, a parallel taxi track and other allied works, according to a statement released by the Press Information Bureau.
The government will infuse Rs 2,869.65 crore to improve the passenger handling capacity of the airport, which is currently 3.9 million passengers per annum, to 9.9 MPPA.
The new terminal building, spread across 75,000 sq m, is designed to hold a capacity of 6 MPPA and also handle 5,000 peak-hour passengers. The proposal also includes extending the runway to dimensions of 4,075 m by 45 m and building a new apron to park 20 aircraft, it said.
Varanasi airport will be constructed as a green airport with the objective of ensuring environmental sustainability through energy optimisation, waste recycling, carbon footprint reduction, and solar energy utilisation, the statement said.
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