Big news for the people of Ludhiana, business and industry hub of Punjab, as two key infrastructure projects are expected to change the landscape of the city. Ludhiana International Airport and Elevated Road project are currently undergoing the construction which are set to be completed in 2023, the Indian Express reported.
Currently, people have to visit Chandigarh, Amritsar or Delhi to catch flights. Once the terminal becomes operational, it could save travel time of Ludhiana people at least 3-6 hours even for domestic flights. This has been a long pending demand of businessmen and industrialists of Ludhiana.
In the similar vein, the elevated road from Samrala chowk till MC limits via Bharat Nagar Chowk may bring big relief to residents from traffic congestion, reducing travel time considerably.
Indian Air Force station upgrade
The upgradation of the Indian Air Force (IAF) station into an international civil airport at Halwara could cost Rs 46.91 crore. The project has two segments: Interim Terminal building, which will cost Rs 22.85 crore and taramac area, the cost of which is pegged at Rs 24.06 crore.
According to the Public Works Department (Buildings and Roads) the work may be completed by June 2023.
Even though the airport project had been approved by the Punjab cabinet in December 2018 under the previous Congress regime, and the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) had taken 161.27 acres of land in possession in May 2020, the civil work has been going with a snail’s pace owing to the paucity of funds. The project, started in December 2021 though, has already missed the six-month deadline of June 2022. However, the private contractor company, Synergy Thrislington, recently resumed the work after some funds were released with the intervention of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, reported IE. In a meeting recently held, a decision was taken that initially the cost will be incurred by the Mann government, and later the Airport Authority of India would reimburse it.
Relief from traffic congestion
The work on the elevated road project, the 4/6 lane highway from Samrala Chowk to MC limits through the city’s bottleneck Bharat Nagar Chowk and bus stand, started in October 2017. It could bring relief to residents of Ludhiana from massive traffic jams on Ferozepur road. The elevated road project may be completed in 2023. The project faced lots of resistance from city residents owing to the chopping of around 2000 trees from Ferozepur road. After the completion of the project, the travel time will get reduced from 30 minutes to 7-10 minutes.
The length of the elevated road project is 12.65 km, out of which 7.1 km is to be constructed including a 510 meters long flyover at Cheema Chowk and 6.6 km from Bharat Nagar Chowk to MC limits. KL Sachdeva, said NHAI Ludhiana project director KL Sachdeva, reported IE.
