New Delhi, September 26: With an aim to boost airport infrastructure, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved construction of a new Domestic Terminal at Patna Airport. Union Finance Minister held a media briefing after the cabinet meeting today and approved a wide range of projects including a domestic terminal at Patna Airport, transfer (disinvestment) of incomplete projects of Hotel Gulmarg Ashok and Hotel Patliputra Ashok, Patna to the State Governments of Jammu & Kashmir and Bihar respectively, financial assistance worth Rs 825 Crore for relining of Sirhind Feeder Canal(Punjab) and Rajasthan Feeder Canal among others.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) also approved the construction of other allied structures at the Patna Airport. Reports inform that the existing domestic terminal is more than 20-year old and the ATC tower, technical block and administrative offices are all in the same domestic terminal building.  'Supreme Court Vindicates Our Stand, Congress Cuts a Sorry Figure Here', Says Arun Jaitley.

During the press meet, the Cabinet also approved disinvestment for completion of incomplete projects. "CCEA approves transfer (disinvestment) of incomplete projects of Hotel Gulmarg Ashok, Gulmarg and Hotel Patliputra Ashok, Patna to the State Governments of Jammu & Kashmir and Bihar respectively," Kar tweeted.

Earlier this month, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had said that it has plans to set up a new domestic terminal at Jai Prakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport, Patna that can handle 4.5 million passengers per year with modern amenities on par with the GRIHA-4 rating. According to a report by PTI, the AAI had sought various clearances from the Environment Ministry for expansion of five airports, including Vijayawada, Lucknow and Patna, involving an investment outlay of Rs 3,258 crore.

The report further states that the meeting of the latest expert appraisal committee (EAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the AAI sought environmental clearance for Patna, Lucknow, Dehradun and Jabalpur airports.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2018 03:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).