Punjab To Soon Get Its 3rd International Airport!

After Mohali and Amritsar, Halwara near Ludhiana will be the 3^rd city in Punjab to have an international airport.

The Punjab cabinet on Monday approved the setting up of an international civil terminal at the Indian Air Force station in Halwara, which is 32 Kms away from Ludhiana.

The Cabinet has also given a go-ahead to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority Of India(AAI) for the project.

AAI would have a majority stake of 51% in the joint venture company while the state government, through Greater Ludhiana Development Authority, will have 49% stake.

The state government as provided 135. 54 acres of land for the project. The expenditure for the development of the airport will be taken care of by AAI while the expenditure on operations, maintenance and repairs would be taken care of by the Joint venture.

Here are the details of the project:

• The 1^st phase will include the development of the international terminal, which is expected to be completed in 3 years
• The terminal will be able to accommodate bigger airplane models like the Boeing 737-700 and Airbus A-320
• The project is aimed at boosting the economic development of Punjab’s business and industrial hub Ludhiana

At present Ludhiana is serviced by a small domestic airport at Sahnewal under the operational control of AAI, which runs regional airplanes to Delhi. Ludhiana also has the advantage of being at the geographical center of Punjab, so this move will surely be beneficial for them.