The apron at the civil enclave will have 10 parking bays capable of handling the A320 family of aircraft and Boeing 737s and two link taxi ways. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Union Cabinet on Friday (August 16, 2024) approved a new civil enclave for Bihar in Bihta at an estimated cost of ₹1,413 crore to help with capacity constraints at Patna airport.
The passenger building at the Bihta Indian Air Force base will span 66,000 sq. m and will be able to handle 3,000 passengers in peak hours and cater to 50 lakh passengers per annum, according to a press statement of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, adding that it can be further expanded to cater to a total capacity of 1 crore passengers per year.
The apron at the civil enclave will have 10 parking bays capable of handling A320 family of aircraft and Boeing 737s and two link taxi ways.
The press statement explained that the project was necessary to address the anticipated saturation of capacity at Patna Airport. “While AAI is already in the process of constructing a new terminal building at Patna Airport, further expansion was constrained due to limited land availability,” it said.
The Union Cabinet also okayed expansion of the existing civil enclave at Bagdogra IAF base at an estimated cost of ₹1,549 crore.
