The Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said on March 7 that the Union government plans to build a new international airport at Bihta, outside Patna, but availability of land from the State government is an issue. Stating this in Rajya Sabha, he said since there is little scope for expansion of the Patna airport, a new facility is being proposed outside Bihar’s capital city.
Bihta is a defence airfield 20 km away from the existing facility and the Ministry of Defence has agreed to give some surplus land they have. Singh said that his ministry has written to the state government for providing land for the new airport.
The land available at Bihita is not enough and some land the State government has to give us (for the new airport), he said. Patna airport expansion is constrained because of the issue of land availability. The airport is considered one of the most critical airports in the country due to the short runway length and obstacles in the form of trees in both approaches.
The State government has been pitching for a new airport at Nalanda. Singh said of the 28 air-strips in Bihar, only three are operational.
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