Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of the new terminal building of Gwalior Airport in the presence of Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Minister for Civil Aviation & Steel Jyotiraditya M. Scindia and Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar.
The design of the new terminal is based on the needs of the future. The current airport has a capacity to handle 200 passengers during peak hours, and the runway can accommodate A-320 and ATR-72 types of aircraft. The new terminal building will be developed on a land of 172 acres, at the cost of Rs 450+ crore, which is 6 times more than the present 29 acres of land. It will be able to handle 1400 passengers during peak hours which is 7 times more than the present capacity. The apron will have a parking capacity of 13 aircraft, which is 4 times higher than the current capacity. Apart from this, a cargo terminal will also be established to promote regional industries, which will help local production of the region reach every corner of the country and abroad.
Shah appreciated the work of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and said that the way this airport has been planned it will be one of the best airports of the country.
Scindia said that under the leadership of Prime Minster Modi, a New India is being developed which leads to the development of a new Madhya Pradesh and a new Gwalior. This terminal of Gwalior Airport will strengthen this development. In the last one year, the air activities of Madhya Pradesh have increased by 48%, where earlier there were 554 arrivals and departures every week in the entire state, today 821 aircraft are operating every week. Minister announced that Gwalior will be connected with Bangalore six days a week by SpiceJet aircraft and one day a week by Boeing 737. Moreover, Gwalior will be connected with Mumbai by Airbus 321 four days a week.
In the development of the new terminal building, technologies like rainwater harvesting and solar energy will be used to protect the environment. A 2.5 MW solar power plant will also be commissioned. The terminal has been designed in such a way that every traveller who comes here gets to see a grand amalgamation of Gwalior’s cultural heritage and modernity.
The occasion was graced by Dr. Narottam Mishra, Home Minister, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Vivek Narayan Shejwalkar, MP (LS), Pradyuman Singh Tomar, Minister Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Tulsi Silawat, Minister Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Bharat Singh Kushwah, MoS, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation Rajiv Bansal, and other officials from MoCA, AAI, and Govt. of Madhya Pradesh were also present.
