16 new airports to be built in five central Indian states: Scindia

The government will build sixteen new airports in the five central Indian states, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday. Addressing the PM-Gati Shakti Conference for the Central Zone, the minister alleged that there was no determination about the formulation and implementation of developmental schemes in previous governments.

Airports will be built at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh and Ambikapur, Bilaspur and Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. Nine airports will be built in Uttar Pradesh, one in Rajasthan and two in Maharashtra, Scindia said.

The minister said only 74 airports were built in the last 70 years. Sixty-six more airports became functional in the last seven years and India has a total of 140 airports as on date. The cargo capacity in the ports has increased from 1280 million metric tons to 1760 million metric tons during the period, he said.

Scindia stressed that the PM-Gati Shakti, which will cost Rs 100 lakh crore, is indeed a campaign to transform India into a global superpower. "This historical milestone will be achieved with the coordinated effort of all the states and UTs. Sixteen ministries of the central government will work in close coordination to make this possible," he said.

The scheme envisages multi-modal connectivity, economic zones, industrial zones, agriculture zones, cargo zones and smart cities, which will boost production, transport, demand and employment in the country.