New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new integrated terminal building of the Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair on Tuesday via video conferencing.
The inauguration of the new integrated terminal building, built at a cost of around Rs 710 crore, will play a key role in boosting connectivity of the island union territory.
With a total built-up area of around 40,800 sqm., the new terminal building will be capable of handling about 50 lakh passengers annually.
An Apron suitable for two Boeing-767-400 and two Airbus-321 types of aircraft has also been constructed at Port Blair airport at a cost of Rs 80 crore, making the airport now suitable for parking of ten aircraft at a time.
Inspired by nature, the architectural design of the airport terminal resembles a shell-shaped structure depicting the sea and islands.
The new integrated terminal building will boost air traffic and help enhance tourism in the region, official sources said.
The building has LED lights for energy conservation, low heat glazing, a double insulated roofing system that minimizes heat gain, and skylights that allow ample natural sunlight to reduce the need for artificial lighting in order to reduce environmental impact.
It incorporates sustainable features such as an underground water tank for rainwater catchment, on-site sewage treatment plant with 100% wastewater reuse for landscaping, and a 500 KW solar power plant. These measures ensure minimal harm to the islands’ environment.
Port Blair is one of the popular Indian destinations. The terminal building with help enhanced employment opportunities for the local community and give a fillip to the economy of the region.
Renamed as Veer Savarkar airport
The airport has been renamed after Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who spent 11 years in the cellular jail, popularly known as Kaalapani, in Port Blair, the capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
It is not a hidden fact that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has been ferociously expressing its devotion towards Savarkar. In the recently inaugurated New Parliament building, which incidentally fell on Savarkar’s birth anniversary, PM Modi paid floral tributes to the latter.
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