Patna: Bihar has begun preparations for feasibility studies for two proposed greenfield airports in the Rajgir and Sasaram-Kaimur regions, as the state seeks to expand air connectivity and support regional economic activity.
The state government has approved the draft agreement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which will assess the technical and practical viability of developing airports at the two proposed locations.
The AAI will inspect the proposed sites and prepare reports based on their suitability. Further decisions on the projects will be taken after the feasibility assessment.
Land Identification Underway
According to the Civil Aviation Department, the process of identifying and finalising land for both airports is currently under way.
Once the sites are finalised, the state government will provide the AAI with detailed information required for the assessment. This will include latitude and longitude, land maps, plot or khasra numbers and details of the site’s length, width and shape.
The AAI will also require Survey of India maps, weather data covering the previous 10 years, prevailing wind directions, land elevation maps and details of the aircraft proposed to operate from the airports.
Aircraft Capacity To Be Assessed
The feasibility exercise will examine what types of aircraft could operate from the proposed airports and whether the sites are suitable for such operations.
Based on the information and site assessments, the AAI will prepare a pre-feasibility report for the two locations.
Under the proposed agreement, the feasibility studies for both sites will be conducted free of charge during the current financial year.
Rajgir Airport Could Boost Tourism
The Bihar government expects a favourable assessment to pave the way for the development of both airports.
The proposed airport at Rajgir is expected to strengthen connectivity to the historic tourism centre and boost economic activity in the surrounding districts.
The next major step will be the finalisation of land and completion of the AAI’s technical and operational assessment, after which the state government will determine the way forward for the two proposed greenfield airport projects.
