Bista lauds airport land move, but slams delay

The proposed new terminal and allied infrastructure is expected to cost over Rs 600 crore, and it will radically change passenger experience at Bagdogra. New terminal will be one lakh sqm in size.The new terminal will have the ability to serve 1.25 crore passengers annually.

MANAS R BANNERJEE, SNS, SILIGURI, 2 OCTOBER 2020: Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, who is also the Chairman of the Bagdogra Airport Advisory Committee (BAC), has welcomed the West Bengal Government's decision to handover a plot of land for the expansion of the airport.

According to him, the announcement of land being finally made available for the much-needed expansion of the airport comes as a relief for all.

"I am glad the landwill finally be handed over, and the Central Government can now work towards improving the terminal and allied infrastructure," Mr Bista said.

"The proposed diagrams and plans are ready. The proposed new terminal and allied infrastructure is expected to cost over Rs 600 crore, and it will radically change passenger experience at Bagdogra. Currently, Bagdogra Airport's terminal size is around 8000 sqm only, but the new terminal will be one lakh sqm in size.The new terminal will have the ability to serve 1.25 crore passengers annually, which is a substantial incirase from the current capacity of 75 lakh only The new terminal will be able to handle around 4,000 passengers per hour, as compared to around 400 currently," he told this correspondent over the phone.

According to him, the new terminal will have 10 aerobridges, which will help passengers move faster and seamlessly. The airport presently has no such aerobridges.

"The aircraft parking bays at the new terminal will be increased to 16 versus only five currently," he said.

According to him, as soon as land is handed over, the Airports Authority of India (AM) will apply for environmental clearance and finalize the contract. "This process should take 6-9 months. Once the construction begins, it should be completed within two years," he said.

"Hopefully by 2023, we will have a world class airport capable of catering to local passenger and business needs and domestic and international tourists.This will go along way in promoting tourism and also better connectivity for the region and people," Mr Bista claimed.

However, Mr Bista, who is also the national spokesperson for the BJP, criticised the Trinamul Congress.

"A lot of hard work has been done to make this happen. Even though the AAI does not normally purchase land for construction or expansion of airports, for Bagdogra they made an exception, given our repeated requests for improved airport facility, and is going to pay Rs 25 crore to procure the land from two tea gardens adjacent to the airport," he said.

"Due to indifference and apathy shown by the TMC-led government, Bagdogra was literally bursting at the seams. The existing terminal was built to handle 7.5 lakh passengers a year, but in 2019-20, it handled close to 32.16- lakh passengers," he said.

"Imagine an airport designed to handle 400 passengers an hour handling around 1000 an hour. In 2014-15, only 10 or 11 commercial flights used to operate from Bagdogra airport, today the number has gone up to 37 flights a day. Bagdogra had gone onto become the 15th busiest airport in India.Yet, the TMC government had repeatedly refused to hand over the land needed for the expansion. This had caused widespread problems for the passengers and also the airline companies," he added.