CM Akhiliesh writes to Modi, wants AAI to step in
The state government, which has failed to find any developers for the Kushinagar international airport project, now wants the AAI to develop the proposed airport in the Buddhist Circuit in eastern UP.
LUCKNOW: The state government, which has failed to find any developers for the Kushinagar international airport project, now wants the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to develop the proposed airport in the Buddhist Circuit in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to issue appropriate directives to the AAI to construct and run the proposed international airport project in Kushinagar, where Gautam Buddha attained mahaparinirvana (salvation).
Kushinagar is an important pilgrimage centre for the Buddhists and is likely to attract 2.5 lakh tourists in the first year of the proposed airport’s construction.
The chief minister has given a detailed account of the feasibility of the project. In his fivepoint letter dated November 5, 2014, he said the state government had initially proposed that the project be implemented on the public private partnership (PPP) model.
The state government’s move, however, did not take shape by now, said the chief minister, indicating that the ambitious project had failed to attract developers.
“Under the given circumstances, it would be in the national interest for the AAI to construct and run the airport project. I have sent a letter in this regard to the union civil aviation minister on September 29, 2014,” he said.
The chief minister added that the state government had already secured the necessary no objection certificates (NOCs) and clearances for the project from the union civil aviation ministry, the defence ministry and the union forest and environment ministry.
The state government had also sanctioned a special project envisaging installation of a 200-foot-high idol of Buddha in Kushinagar. The state government, in collaboration with the World Bank, had also sanctioned a $300 million project for the development of skills for the service providers vis-à-vis the tourism infrastructure in the Buddhist Circuit.