.. OUR STAFF REPORTER Indore The new terminal of Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar International Airport, which has been operational since last two months, would be formally inaugurated and dedicated to the public, on Saturday.
According to so
urces, Union Aviation Minister Ajit Singh will inaugurate the terminal at 9.30 am, on Saturday. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan will be the chief guest while Union Commerce and Industry Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will preside over the programme. MP Sumitra Mahajan, Mayor KM Moghe and MLA Sudarshan Gupta would be present there as special guests.
Former ruler Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar had conceptualised the airport in 1933- 34 and commissioned Vincent of Tata and Sons, then the lone aviation service provider in the country. The airport became operational on July 26, 1946 and the Government of India took over the airport in 1950. The Indore airport was one of the 12 airports in the country, which were developed as part of airports by the government. The new technical block of the airport became operational on May 23, 2001 and on August 17, 2001 the airport was renamed as Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar International Airport. The foundation stone for the new terminal was laid by then Union aviation minister Praful Patel on February 20, 2009. The terminal, constructed at the cost of Rs 135 crore, has the capacity to seat 700 passengers at a time. The runway of the airport has been extended to 9,000 feet to allow larger aircraft to land. The parking bay of the new terminal can hold 12 aircraft at a time.
