Bengal Aerotropolis Projects limited (BAPl), which is jointly developing country's first regional airport in Asansol district of West Bengal, is looking at ludhiana for setting up a greenfield international airport. The company has already carried out a pre-feasibility study for the project and has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Punjab government, said BAPl chief marketing officer Sunil Nair.
“We are also looking at ludhiana as our next airport project. We have an MoU in place with the Punjab government and have carried out the pre-feasibility study for the proposed project,” Nair said. Nair said that Punjab's two international airports — Amritsar and Chandigarh — have reached the saturation point, and the State would soon need another airport to meet the growing domestic and international air traffic.
“As much as 15-16 per cent of the passengers from Amritsar and Chandigarh come from ludhiana, and thus the city needs an airport of its own,” Nair said. Stating that the idea was to have a greenfield airport only at those places which have a population of over one crore, Nair said that the number of such cities in the country’s was growing and they would be need an airport sooner or later. “Our whole idea is to build an airport, where there is no airport. So once we establish the model, we will take it around the other cities,” he said.