Patna: The Patna district administration is in the process of acquiring additional eight acres of land for the construction of the civil enclave at Bihta airport, after which commercial flight operations will begin.
Patna DM Chandrashekhar Singh said on Tuesday that 108 acres of land were already made available for the Bihta airport, and an additional eight acres will be provided to the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
During the review meeting related to the construction of a civil enclave at the Bihta airport and the expansion of Patna airport, the district land acquisition officer informed the DM that the process of acquiring additional eight acres of land in Mauja Vishambharpur for the construction of the civil enclave is underway, and the notification was published on September 28. After duly hearing the objections, the land will be handed over in December.
The DM said, “The construction of the terminal building will commence on time. The tender process and other works have been initiated by the AAI, as per rules. Besides, the process of identifying 191 acres of land for the expansion of the runway from 8,000 feet to 12,000 feet is underway. A multi-member team has been working to identify the suitable land, and they will submit the report in the next two days. Technical surveys and evaluations will be conducted by the AAI and the Indian Air Force.”
The DM added, “Construction of the terminal building and expansion of the runway will go parallel, so that the flight operation can begin from the Bihta airport soon. With the expansion of the runway, bigger aircraft can land here.”
Land acquisition for a six-lane approach road from NH-922 to the proposed Bihta civil enclave has been completed. The work on the airport link road is in progress. The DM directed the officials to work in a planned manner. He also asked the competent authority to ensure an excellent drainage system.
Singh instructed the electrical executive engineer, Bihta, to coordinate with the department for the formal shifting of the HT line passing through the acquired 108 acres of land. Instructions were also given to the executive engineer, road construction department, and rural works department, for road widening in Vishambharpur village.
Officials from the civil aviation department have been asked to coordinate with officials from relevant departments to carry out necessary work for the construction of taxiways and buildings/masts.
The DM also mentioned that the expansion work of Patna airport is also underway, and the process of providing 1.5 acres of land for the Meteorological Centre building at Patna airport is in its final stage and will soon be handed over to the AAI. “Work is being done for the installation of CAT-I lights and commissioning of DVOR,” Singh added.
The meeting was attended by managing director of BUIDCO, Yogesh Kumar Sagar, deputy development commissioner of Patna Sameer Saurabh, SDO of Patna Sadar and Danapur, among other officials.