It seems that the upcoming poll season in Uttar Pradesh has ‘activated’ the governments of the Centre and the state. At every rally, there is a veritable shower of announcements and inaugurations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday to lay the foundation stone of the much-anticipated Jewar International Airport. Some days ago, Modi had inaugurated the Kushinagar Airport in the state as well.

Next year, in 2022, there will be another international airport ready in Ayodhya too, which will be the state’s fourth.  The Kushinagar Airport became the third in the state after Lucknow and Varanasi. With the completion of the Jewar and Ayodhya airports, the total will come to five.

The ‘Aatmanirbhar’ (self-dependant) rhetoric aside, the 3000-acre international airport will be built and operated by a foreign entity : Switzerland-based Zurich International Airport.

What’s special is that elections are due in Uttar Pradesh and seven other states next year. Although the foundation stone is being set now, the first phase of construction will be complete only by September 2024, just in time for the 18^th Lok Sabha Elections in the country. The first phase of construction will cost ₹10,050 crore.

It is being told that the annual capacity of this airport will be 1.2 crore travellers, and it si also being anticipated that the Jewar International Airport will lessen the load on Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Jewar and the other airports being constructed in Uttar Pradesh will be among the country’s largest, all within 72 km. of the national capital Delhi.

At present, there are 8 domestic and international airports operational in Uttar Pradesh, with 13 more being planned or announced. Commercial flights currently use the airports in Lucknow, Varanasi, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Agra, Kanpur, Prayagraj, and Ghaziabad.