PATNA: The Bihar Cabinet on Friday approved the construction of a Greenfield international airport in Sonepur, located in Saran district. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, where 35 proposals were cleared.
The airport will be developed on about 4,200 acres in the Dariyapur Chanwar area between Hajipur and Dumaria. The State government has set a target to complete the project by 2030.
Officials said the airport will have modern infrastructure and a long runway capable of handling large aircraft, including the Airbus A380, one of the world’s largest passenger planes.
Following the project’s inclusion in the Union Budget, the State government accelerated the process and granted Cabinet approval for land acquisition. An amount of Rs 1,302 crore has been sanctioned for acquiring land required for the airport.
The most significant feature of Sonpur Airport will be its two proposed runways, each 4,200 meters long. It will be the fifth largest airport in the country, after Delhi, Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai, and Noida (Jevar) International Airports.
Sonpur airport will be the 24th Greenfield airport in the country.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Saran and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy welcomed the state Cabinet’s decision and expressed gratitude to state government for approving the long pending demand.
The decision is being seen as a major boost regional connectivity in north Bihar.