Amit Shah lays foundation for expansion of Gwalior's Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia airport terminal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the expansion of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia airport terminal in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior on Sunday.

As Gwalior is one of the 100 cities that are a part of the government's Smart City Mission, the airport expansion is expected to increase the beauty of the heritage place.

The current civil enclave of the Gwalior airport is functional on at least 30 acres of land with limited infrastructure. The existing terminal building has a capacity of holding 200 commuters in its 3,500 square metre area during peak hours. Its runway is appropriate for aircraft like the A-320, however, its apron can accommodate one A-320 and two Q-400/ATR-72-like aircraft.

Considering the rise in commuters at the airport, this expansion work is currently underway at the cost of Rs 450 crores.

According to an official statement, the new terminal building will be developed over an area of 20,000 square metres, nearly six times more than the current area. Equipped with four passenger boarding bridges, the new terminal is said to be able to hold 1,400 passengers during peak hours, with its apron capacity to park nine A-320 and four ATR-72 types of aircraft. Apart from this, a cargo terminal will also be set up to promote regional industries.

The new terminal building shall have a double-insulated roofing system with the provision of canopies to save energy, LED lighting, low heat gain glazing, double-skinned insulated wall panels, rainwater harvesting to recharge the ground water level and recycled water for geo beautification. It will also be equipped with various sustainable facilities like sewage treatment.

After the commissioning of the 2.5 MW solar power plant, this airport will run on green energy. The terminal has been designed by integrating the cultural heritage and folk art of Madhya Pradesh.

Gwalior Airport is one of the five airports in Madhya Pradesh and is located in the northeastern part of the city. It is being asserted that the expansion of the airport terminal will enhance the education-based tourism in the city and will also provide employment opportunities as the livelihood of most of the families here is dependent on the tourism sector.

Earlier in the day, the Home Minister also launched the Hindi version of MBBS course books in Bhopal in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state medical education minister Vishwas Sarang.

Madhya Pradesh is the first state to start the MBBS course in the Hindi language in the country. Initially, three subjects have been selected to be studied in Hindi which includes Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. A team of 97 experts have been working on the preparation of books for the last 232 days at Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal. They have been translating the book from English to Hindi.

Madhya Pradesh medical education minister Vishwas Sarang on Sunday said that the move will bring a big change in the advancement of education in Hindi medium.