After the proposal for an international airport at Jewar was shot down by the Centre, the state government is pushing a proposal for an international airport at Kushinagar — the land of Buddha.

“Apart from boosting tourism in the state — as many domestic and foreign tourists visit the Buddhist circuit — the airport will ensure development of the area. It will also generate employment in the eastern part of the state,” said Principal Secretary (Tourism) Avneesh Awasthi.

Recently, senior officials of the Department of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Irrigation, Revenue, PWD and Special Area Development Authority had visited Kushinagar and found the site eligible for the project.

The government is currently ready with an initial Project Definition Report.

For preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR), Mumbai-based consultancy firm ILFS Infrastructure and Development Corporation — known as IIDC — has been hired. The DPR is expected to be ready shortly and will be presented to the Centre next month.

Since the approximate cost of the project is Rs 600 crore, the government has decided to go for a public-private partnership to construct the airport. For this, technical bids will be invited next month.

“The problem with Jewar airport was its proximity to the Indira Gandhi International Airport. It is not the case with Kushinagar,” said Awasthi.

Kushinagar already has an airstrip at Kasia — 5 km from the city and 51 km away from Gorakhpur aerodrome. While the existing airstrip is 1,750 m — an international airport needs 3,300 to 4,000 m-long runway to operate Boeings.

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