Ayodhya, Dec 5 The international airport coming up in Ayodhya is being designed to give wings to the holy city. To be called the Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport, it will be located 8 km away from the city centre.
The construction is on in full swing and the work on the terminal building is 45 per cent complete while the runway is 65 per cent complete.
The airport will have the capacity to handle 300 passengers at peak hours and will also boast of state-of-the-art facilities. They include three parking bays, apron, two taxiways, a runway measuring 2,200 x 45 metres and night-landing aids such as ILS and CAT-1 and DVOR.
In November 2018, the state government decided to acquire more than 280 acres of land around the airstrip and widen it to allow the landing of larger aircraft.
In June this year, the project in-charge said that the construction would be done in two phases and the length of the runway would be increased in the second phase.
Other facilities at the airport will include a food court, retail shops, cafeteria, sweet counters, tourism counter, baby care room and smoking zone.
The airport is located between NH 27 and NH 330 at Sultanpur Naka, Faizabad.
Its terminal building will be a replica of the upcoming Ram temple. According to official sources, the estimated cost of the project is Rs 328 crores.
With the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya progressing with the deadline of December 2023 in mind, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also picked up pace to develop the required infrastructure at the under-construction international airport in the town by March next year.
Anil Mishra, Member, Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust, said the walls of the airport terminal building's lounge area will be embellished with replicas of the principal weapons of Lord Ram, a bow and arrow, and various other artefacts from the Ramayana era.
Mishra said passengers entering the airport will get an ambience that would take them back to the Ramayana era, as described in the epics and other texts. The airport will now enable devotees from across the globe to land directly in Ayodhya and visit the Ram temple.
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