Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport (IATA: RDP, ICAO: VEDG), is located at Andal, Bardhaman in Durgapur sub-division, 25 km from Asansol and 15 km from Durgapur. The airport is a located between the twin cities of Asansol-Durgapur. 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 Septem
ber 2013. 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. The airport received final operational clearance from the aviation regulator DGCA on 24 April 2015.[5] Scheduled commercial operation is set to begin in May 2015. On 10 May 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first passenger to use the new airport when he flown out to Delhi, aboard Indian Air Force Boeing 737 VIP aircraft, even before commercial airlines started their regular service from the airport. 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. The Total Project Area is approximately 2,000 acres. Rest of the area will be used for industrial (distribution & logistics centers, office buildings, light manufacturing firms, convention centers, services industries) institutional and social infrastructure and for rehabilitation and common areas. BAPL estimates the industrial skypark will create around 83,000 jobs. (Information taken from Wikipedia)
