Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the terminal building via video conferencing. Post the inaguration, he said that it will make travelling to Port Blair easy and will give the much needed boost to tourism
The inauguration of the New Integrated Terminal Building, built at a cost of around Rs 710 crore, will boost connectivity of the island. With a total built up area of around 40,800 sq m, the new terminal building will be capable of handling about 50 lakh passengers annually.
Inaugurating the new integrated terminal building of Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair. It will boost tourism and strengthen the region's economy. https://t.co/Gbey9gseAT
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 18, 2023
Know all About the New Integrated Terminal Building
The new terminal building is shaped like a shell and it depics the natural environs of the islands. The terminal has been built in a way that it will have 100 per cent natural lighting for 12 hours a day and it can be achieved through skylights on the roof.
An Apron suitable for two Boeing-767-400 and two Airbus-321 types of aircraft has also been constructed at Port Blair Airport at a cost of Rs 80 crore, making the airport now suitable for parking of ten aircrafts at a time.
The total built-up area of the new terminal is 40,837 sq metres and it has the capacity to handle 1,200 passengers during peak hours and around 40 lakh passengers annually.
The building is three-storey and there are 28 check-in counters, three passenger boarding bridges and four conveyor belts.
The newly inagurated airport boasts of having a number of sustainability features like double insulated roofing, skylights, low heat gain glazing and LED lighting. Other prominent features of the building include a rainwater catchment in an underground water tank, on-site sewage treatment plant which utilizes hundred percent treated wastewater for landscaping and a 500KW capacity solar power plant.
PMO noted that the building has been constructed in way that it causes minimum negative impact on the islands’ environment.
Jyotiraditya Scindia Highlights Importance of Veer Savarkar International Airport
Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia unveiled a statue of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in Port Blair.
He said Veer Savarkar International Airport has connectivity with Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam and will be further expanded. Scindia further said, “It won’t an exaggeration to say that Andaman & Nicobar Islands are a pearl of India’s ancient history.”
Veer Savarkar International Airport To Give Boost To Employment in the Region
Port Blair is one of the most popular tourist destinations and is also considered as a gateway to Andaman and Nicobaar Island. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued a release in which it has said that the sprwaling new terminal will give the much needed impetus to employment generation in the region as tourist activities will witness a surge and there will also be an increase in air traffic.
