Looking ahead 2024: Ludhiana to get new international airport, highways, smart tag in New Year

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, December 31

Ludhiana, popularly known as Manchester of India, is all set to get a new international airport, new highways, and become a smart city in 2024.

Besides, the 24x7 drinking water supply project, rejuvenation of the Buddha Nullah and major infrastructure development projects are also likely to be completed in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, in the New Year.

Ludhiana Tribune brings to its readers an overview of what is expected to come up in the business and industrial hub of the North during 2024.

International airport

Ludhiana, which is reckoned as the financial capital of the state, will get an international airport in 2023. After remaining stalled since March last year, the work has reached the advanced stage with the interim terminal building and several other components already completed at the Air Force Station in Halwara, which is one of the oldest frontline airbases of the Indian Air Force (IAF), close to Ludhiana, at the cost of Rs 47 crore. The big ticket project has been targeted to be completed by February 28.

Besides the terminal building, the work on the sub-station and toilet block has also been completed while allied works have picked up pace.

With all pending nods having been procured, the work on all other components, which were stalled since long, has been put in top gear to ensure that the new international airport takes off by February 28.

Following the intervention of Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry had recently granted all pending approvals to the project and had assured to launch flights from here once the airport gets operational.

Major projects too likely to complete in 2024

The 24x7 drinking water supply project, rejuvenation of the Buddha Nullah and major infrastructure development projects are also likely to be completed in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, in the New Year.

24x7 water supply

The work on the much-awaited 24x7 canal-based surface drinking water supply project worth Rs 3,394.45 crore in Ludhiana will also get underway in the new year. While funds have already been allocated and land for the World Bank-funded project has already been acquired, the work will begin shortly as the RFP for the project had got the WB nod recently. The company for management of the project has been incorporated and the project implementation unit has been established.

Of the total four bids that had been received for the project, two had been found technically qualified, officials have said.

The Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) would soon award the work following the formal nod from the WB. The development assumes significance as the work on the ambitious project had not been started even almost three years after its inception during the previous Capt Amarinder Singh regime.

Smart City

Ludhiana will further inch towards becoming a smart city with 52 projects worth Rs 219 crore already been completed, 20 more schemes costing Rs 711 crore have been put under execution and are under various stages of progress.

Of the 20 under-execution projects, the work on 16 projects worth Rs 549.1 crore has already been awarded and is under progress, while the remaining four deposit works worth Rs 161.9 crore have been tendered out.

With this, a total of 72 projects worth Rs 930 crore are being undertaken by the LSCL to develop Ludhiana, spread over 169 sq km area with a population of 16.18 lakh as per the 2011 Census, which was among 100 cities in the country and three in Punjab, which was selected under the SCM to be developed as a smart city in the first round of the selection by the Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) on June 25, 2015.

Buddha Nullah

Year 2023 will witness the highly polluted Buddha Nullah, a seasonal tributary of the Sutlej, which runs almost parallel to the river through most of Ludhiana district, including 14-km in Ludhiana city, before merging with the Sutlej, turning into Buddha Dariya, a clean water body, with the help of an ambitious Rs 840-crore rejuvenation project, 95 per cent of the work on which had already been completed.

Infra development

Work on big ticket infrastructure development projects being implemented at the cost of Rs 11,494 crore were put on fast track in Ludhiana district in 2021.

Of the total 31 major development works, 23 have already been completed or were in the advanced stage of completion, while the rest eight projects were targeted to see the light of the day in the New Year.

The work on constructing a new government senior secondary school, community centre, senior citizens’ club, sewing centre, health-cum-sports centre, bridge over Sidhwan Canal, 100-foot-wide road, special park, and recarpeting of 26.9-km-long stretch of Southern Bypass from the PAU to Doraha was also in progress and were scheduled to be completed in the New Year.

Health

The district hospital would undergo a major revamp and upgrade as the work on it has already started by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, who has adopted health facilities at Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Sangrur to develop them on a par with private hospitals.

A new 75-bed critical care unit would come up at the district hospital, which would provide 280 types of medicines from February with 190 medicines to be made available from January itself.

At present, 75 Aam Aadmi Clinics are operational in the district and in the New Year, 20 more will be added. These will help in broadening the healthcare facilities in the district.

A new intensive care unit at the district hospital would also start functioning in the New Year. It would help cut down the referral rate of patients.

Besides, the upgrade of health infrastructure, including Civil Hospital in Jagraon, CHC in Doraha, SDHs in Raikot and Khanna, MCH at Civil Hospital in Ludhiana, and CHCs in Machhiwara, Malout, Sahnewal, Pakhowal, Hathur, Payal, Dehlon and Sudhar will also be completed in 2024.

A new RT-PCR lab at Civil Hospital would also be launched in the coming year.

National highways

The work on several new under-construction national highways passing through Ludhiana district will also complete in 2024. These included elevated highway, Delhi-Katra, Ludhiana-Ropar, Ludhiana-Bathinda expressways, and Southern Bypass.

Municipal Corporation

As the term of the MC House ended in March 2023, the general civic elections would be held in 2024.

Issues such as poor solid waste management, overflowing sewers, rain waterlogging, stray dogs and cattle, polluted water bodies and illegal constructions that remained unresolved so far will also seek resolution this year.

The construction of ROB/RUBs on Pakhowal Road, installation of static waste compactors, construction and demolition waste management plant, and construction of vending zones were also likely to be completed in 2024.

Around 1,100 metric tonnes of waste generated in the city daily also needs regular processing.

The condition of various roads in the city, which remained in a dilapidated state, required early repair/ reconstruction.

Overflowing sewers were another chronic issue that would seek resolution in the New Year.

Punjab Agricultural University

Known as the lungs of the city, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) will get a facelift, with the beautification and restoration of its rock garden, QR coding of trees, grooming of pathways and revival of water bodies likely to be completed in the new year.

Industry

Industrialists hope to get a congenial environment for trade and industry in 2024. They look ahead for fulfilment of promises to provide power at Rs 5 per unit, better infrastructure at focal points and industrial areas, end to corruption by strengthening single windows and self-certification policy, tax and financial relief for sufferings during Covid times, technology upgrade centre and expediting work on exhibition centre and freight corridor.

Sports

The sports infrastructure that required attention is in for major makeover during 2024.

The new synthetic athletics track at Guru Nanak stadium here, synthetic surface at Olympian Prithipal Singh Astroturf hockey stadium at the PAU, second indoor basketball hall, parallel to the existing one, with a state-of-the-art structure for aspiring basketball players are likely to see the light of day this year.

Periphery

Satellite towns of Jagraon, Sahnewal and Doraha are also in for major push to infrastructure and improvement in the basic civic amenities during 2024.

(Inputs by Manav Mander, Harshraj Singh, Shivani Bhakoo, Anil Datt and Lovleen Bains)

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