Durgapur Aerotropolis – A Name in Airport-Driven Urban Development

Durgapur has been an industrial town since long. A lot of industries have been set up there and the city has undergone massive changes in respect to industrial development. It houses two main steel plants. The town and its surrounding areas also have many other mines, among the major ones are – Coal fields of Raniganj, Asansol and Dhanbad. The development of these small and large industries has given rise to the settlement of more and more people I the region that use different modes of transportation for their business and personal commuting. The city also needs more accommodation to accommodate these increasing numbers of people. This gave rise for a need to develop an Aerotropolis in the region and a company named Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL) came forward to transform this Durgapur city in to an Aerotropolis.

BAPL developed the city of Durgapur in to an Aerotropolis in the year 2015. The city became one of the National Terminal and had got an ultra-modern airport right in the attached outskirts of this glowing town. A 600 acres airport was built at Andal, which is a small town just near Durgapur.  The airport has all the facilities of a modern air base and is in line with other big airports as developed in developing nations. BAPL took assistance from Changi Airports international – a company based in Singapore –who provided technical knowhow to BAPL and helped develop this Aerotropolis. Changi Airports International had prior experience in developing such aero-cities in other parts of the world. They indeed developed similar Aerotropolis in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The airport thus formed is now fully running and there are regular flights that run between Durgapur – Kolkata and Durgapur – New Delhi. BAPL has got a tie-up with some major airlines like – Alliance Air and Spice Jet who run regular flights between these cities. The airport enjoys all major amenities that an Aerotropolis should have. Within its premises the airport has shopping malls, business centres, offices, and entertainment hubs. The airport has large run ways to accommodate all major aircrafts. It also has two terminal hubs with conveyer belts to transit passengers and their luggage comfortably. Additionally the airport has the capacity to avail 1 million passengers per year. The airport also recently got its Wi-Fi services enabled. The passengers waiting to board an aircraft can make use of such services. The airport has tight security implemented at the ground and the airport terminals both.  Mr. Partha Ghosh is the key person behind Andal airport development. It was the plan of Mr. Partha Ghosh who is the person leading BAPL to reach its destination. 

 

Author’s bio: Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL) is a notable Infrastructure Company identifying and developing Aerotropolis Projects in India. Mr. Partha Ghosh along with BAPL gave India its first Aerotropolis. It was the efforts of Mr Partha Ghosh that built up Andal airport an ultra-modern and first of its kind airport terminal in the Eastern Region.