PM Modi unveils 80-foot statue of Assam's first CM Bardoloi outside new airport terminal in Guwahati
The Integrated Terminal 2 Building is designed to handle 13.1 million passengers per year
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a new terminal of the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport (LGBIA) in Guwahati. The airport is named after Assam's first chief minister, whose 80-foot statue was also unveiled by Modi outside the airport.
Congress leader Gopinath Bardoloi was awarded the Bharat Ratna by the BJP government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee. The statue has been sculpted by eminent artist Ram Sutar, who died on Wednesday at the age of 101. Sutar had also designed the Statue of Unity, the tallest statue of the world, located in Gujarat.
The Integrated Terminal 2 Building is designed to handle 13.1 million passengers per year. The PM also undertook a tour of the new terminal built at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore.
Officials said the total cost of the project is Rs 5,000 crore, including Rs 1,000 crore earmarked specifically for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities.
The airport is aimed to be a key aviation hub for Northeast India and a gateway to Southeast Asia, they said. The new terminal has an area of 1,40,000 square metres, and its design draws inspiration from Assam's rich biodiversity and cultural heritage, they added.
