Kazi Nazrul Islam International Airport, Andal - Burdwan

Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport (IATA: RDP, ICAO: VEDG), is a domestic* airport located at Andal in Durgapur subdivision which is located in Burdwan District of India. The airport is roughly 15 km from Durgapur's City Centre, 79 km from Burdwan City Purbasha Bus Terminus and 25 km from Asansol's City Bus Terminus in West Bengal, India. It is part of the country's first private sector Aerotropolis, being developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL). The airport was officially inaugurated on 19 September 2013. *The airport will be upgraded to an International airport in future.

The project was conceived in 2006-07 during the Left Front government. The State Government also has a 1.23 per cent stake through West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. Singapore's Changi Airports International (CAI) has a 32 per cent stake in BAPL. Other Indian promoters include IL&FS, Pragati Social Infrastructure & Development, Pragati 47, Lend Lease Company India and Citystar Infrastructure. The airport has been built over 650 acres at a cost of Rs 600 crore.

The 5,750 square metre passenger terminal building has a capacity of 1 million passengers per annum and can be expanded in the future to a capacity to 2.5 million per annum. It has six check-in counters with Common Use Terminal equipment (CUTE) in the departure lounge and two baggage conveyor belts at the arrival hall. The terminal has branded retail and F&B outlets, ATMs, a clinic and pharmacy, a baby-care room, Wi-Fi services, a hotel booking counter, convenience store and spa.

The airport's 2,800-metre runway is equipped with a CAT I instrument landing system (ILS) and can handle narrow-body aircraft like Airbus A-320 and Boeing 737. The airport apron has four parking bays and a helipad. The airport is equipped with category VI firefighting and rescue capability.

∆ HISTORY ∆
The airport received final operational clearance from the aviation regulator DGCA on 24 April 2015. On 10 May 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first passenger to use the new airport when he flew out to Delhi, aboard an Indian Air Force Boeing 737 VIP aircraft, even before commercial airlines started their regular service from the airport. Scheduled commercial operation commenced on 18 May 2015.

∆ AIRLINE & DESTINATIONS ∆
Negotiations are underway with IndiGo and GoAir for scheduled flights for connecting to Delhi. Regional carrier Air Costa may connect these two south Indian cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore for four days a week.

∆ AIRPORT AT A GLANCE ∆
Aerodrome Reference Code: 4C with CAT-I operations (Enable to handle narrow-body aircraft like Airbus A 319/320 and Boeing B 737-800) Size of passenger Terminal: 5,750 sq m ATC tower and service cluster : 1,857 sq m Runway Length: 2,800 metres x 45 metres (extendable to 3,315 metres) Terminal capacity: 1 million passengers per annum.

∆ REAL ESTATE ∆
As it is an Aerotropolis, Utsav Parekh, one of the initial promoters of BAPL, said the company will focus on real estate and was holding dialogue with several global real-estate majors from Singapore, Japan and others.

∆ ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ∆
The Total Project Area is approximately 2,300 acres. The Airport occupies 650 acres. Rest of the area will be used for industrial (distribution & logistics centres, office buildings, light manufacturing firms, convention centres, services industries) institutional and social infrastructure and for rehabilitation and common areas. The 10,000 Crore's project BAPL estimates the industrial skypark will create around 83,000 jobs.