PM Modi To Visit Tripura On January 4

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Tripura on January 4 and inaugurate the new terminal of Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala.

This was informed by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday during a gathering at a church in West Tripura on the occasion of Christmas. He also said that the Prime Minister will be accompanied by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiradiya Scindia.

The new terminal is being built at a cost of Rs 500 crore as part of the Airport Authority of India's initiative to develop airports across the North East. It will be capable of handling 4-5 times more passengers than the existing one which has a capacity of just 500 travelers.

With 19 flights operating daily, the existing terminal has become saturated. The new structure is spread across 25,000 square meters and includes six bays, one hangar, 20 check-in counters, 5 custom counters, 10 immigration counters, apron for six aircraft parking bays, provisions for link cabs, inline baggage system, a solar power unit capable of handling most power requirements of the installation, and a self-sustainable sewage treatment plant. It will also sport miniature sculptures of Tripura's 7th century's mammoth, and bas relief sculptures of Unakoti and Tripurasundari temple among others.

The airport will also feature India's first full-body scanner. The terminal was initially scheduled to be made operational before Durga Puja last year but got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Established in 1942, Tripura airport is the second-busiest one in North East India after Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati. The airport was established as a military airstrip, the land for which was gifted by the king of Tripura Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Bahadur. The airport was renamed after him in July 2018.