New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the new integrated terminal building (NITB) of the Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Tuesday, officials said. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who reached the airport, unveiled a statue of V D Savarkar on the premises and took a tour of the establishment.
He was accompanied by the Union Minister of State for Road, Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation, General (Retd.) V K Singh. The building is shaped like a shell, depicting the natural environs of the islands. The entire terminal will have 100 per cent natural lighting for 12 hours a day which will be achieved through skylights on the roof, they said.
Due to a surge in passenger traffic, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) constructed the NITB at an estimated cost of Rs707.73 crores. With a total built-up area of 40,837 sq metres, the new terminal building will have the capacity to handle 1,200 passengers during peak hours and around 40 lakh passengers annually. The three-storey building will be equipped with 28 check-in counters, three passenger boarding bridges and four conveyor belts.
While inaugurating the new terminal, PM Modi said, "We have fulfilled the demands of Andaman and Nicobar people of extending the capacity of Veer Savarkar Airport at Port Blair. Till now the existing terminals of the airport could handle only 4000 tourists per day whereas the airport will now be able to accommodate around 11000 people daily due to the addition of this new terminal to the airport."
While addressing the public virtually, PM Modi also emphasized the benefits that the people of Andaman and Nicobar would be enjoying after the addition of the terminal. He said, "With this new terminal in Port Blair, the ease of travel will improve, the ease of doing business will improve and the connectivity will also improve."
