The new terminal of Ranchi airport will be inaugurated on Sunday in the presence of Union Civil Aviation Minister, Ajeet Singh. The airport took years to build and around Rs138 crore were spent for constructing this facility.
Built to ease the pressure of burgeoning number of passengers off the old terminal, the new terminal is capable of handling aircraft of AB-31 type as well.
The terminal, a perfect blend of tribal & modern art, is spread in 19,676 sqm of land and boasts of facilities hall mark of an international airport.
The new terminal will greet passengers with escalators & elevators, state of the art waiting lounges equipped with Wifi and lAN connectivity, smoking zone to save non-smokers from the ill effects of passive smoking, a duty-free shop for shopaholics, a food joint for connoisseur of good food, around eight arrival & departure gates for the passengers to move in & out of the terminal and glitzy flight display systems.
Interestingly, the new airport is the indication of increasing preference of people of Jharkhand to get airborne to reach their destination in shortest possible duration.
The number of passengers flying saw a jump of 36.1 per cent in just one year thus giving birth to the idea of constructing another facility at the Birsa Munda Airport.
However, the Jharkhand has to go many miles more to let the aviation companies spread its wings to its other parts. Out of three metros of the State, only Ranchi has a fully operational airport while the rest two, Dhanbad & Jamshedpur have airstrips which are owned and maintained by Tata group.
Union Minister, Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, KC Venugopal, Ranchi MP Subodh Kant Sahay are on the probable list of dignitaries for the occasion.