Kushinagar Airport

Kushinagar Airport or Kasia Airport is a proposed international airport situated in Kasia, Kushinagar district and is 52 km east of Gorakhpur, in Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. The airstrip spans 97 acres, has a small apron of 145 metres by 46 metres and handles small aircraft.The airport lies near an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Gautama Buddha has attained Parinirvana after his death. The State Government plans to develop the airport to cater to international tourists who visit this site. The government has acquired 550 acres of land for this project at a cost of Rs 180 crores.The Central Government has agreed to a Viability gap funding (VGF) of 20%. The airport will be built through a joint venture between State Government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).The project was initially intended to be developed on PPP model at an estimated cost of Rs.354 Crores. The State Government had selected IL&FS Infrastructure Development Company Limited as PPP project consultants. The project got an "In Principle Approval” from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India) in September 2010.The government received 15 technical bids from reputed infrastructure companies for development of the airport in 2013.The state Cabinet cleared the project and approved the financial bid document in January 2014. But despite several attempts to reduce the cost and the size of the project, the government could not convince private players about its viability. In May 2015, the state government decided to take the support of AAI to go ahead with the project.