New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday inaugurated the new terminal building of the Tiruchirappalli International Airport — Tamil Nadu’s second-largest terminal in terms of international traffic, after the one in capital Chennai.
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The terminal building, built at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore, can serve 44 lakh passengers annually and about 3,500 passengers during peak hours. It has 60 check-in counters, 5 baggage carousels, 60 arrival immigration counters, and 44 departure emigration counters, according to a government statement.
The facade and interiors depict the state’s art forms, including Kolam, and also displays the colours of the Srirangam Temple.
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for multiple other projects worth more than Rs 19,000 crore related to rail, road, oil and gas, shipping and higher education.
At the public function in Tiruchirappalli, he said the terminal building and other connectivity projects would positively impact the economic landscape of the region.
He said the central government had steadily focused on modern infrastructure in the last 10 years. “This effect is seen in Tamil Nadu as well, which is becoming an ambassador of developed India,” the Prime Minister added.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia were also present at the event.
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Modi, who is on a two-day tour of Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and Kerala, began Tuesday with an address at the 38th convocation ceremony of Tiruchirappalli’s Bharathidasan University.
“I am glad to learn that I am the first Prime Minister to have the privilege of coming to a convocation here… My young friends, you are part of a great, historical tradition of knowledge… The whole of society, including the poorest of the poor, played a role in bringing you to this important day,” Modi told the graduating batch.
“Therefore, giving back to them and creating a better society and country is the true purpose of education.”
During his visit to Lakshadweep on 3 January, Modi will inaugurate development projects worth more than Rs 1,150 crore in telecommunications, drinking water, solar power and health.
He will inaugurate the Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fibre Connection (KLI-SOFC) project. This is expected to increase internet speed by more than 100 times — from 1.7 gbps to 200 gbps.
In a statement, the government said the project “will ensure a paradigm shift in communication infrastructure in the Lakshadweep islands”.
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He will dedicate the Low-Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) plant at Kadmat that will produce 1.5 lakh litres of clean drinking water every day. Modi also dedicated to the nation a solar power plant at Kavaratti — the first-ever, battery-backed solar power project of Lakshadweep.
