Bihar's Bihta Airport Sanctioned: ₹459 Cr Project Ahead of Polls:

The central government aims to mirror its electoral wins in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi, and has allegedly set things in motion for a massive infrastructure overhaul in Bihar. According to a report by The Indian Express, the central government has earmarked 459 Crore for the Bihta Airport, which is located on the outskirts of Patna. This is a direct step towards achieving its goal. The move comes a month after the central government listed the addition of an airport in Bihta under its proposed measures for 2025-26's union budget. Since this is a goal set for the future, the central government planned the airport along with other measures in BIhta, which later came out as a controversial statement. As reported by IE, the Indian Airport Authority has already sent a letter of intent to a Russian firm awarded the project for the Bihta airport. The letter was addressed to Joint Stock Company "Industrial Association", a construction major in Russia, using the label M/S Joint Stock Company on February 14. The contract works include the construction of an airport civil enclave, an airport IT building, new terminals, an airport IT system, elevated roads, and utilities for a staggering amount of 459 Crore.

The Center had publicized the construction of Bihta airport as part of a greater infrastructure investment in the state prior to the polls. In addition to the Bihta project, the construction of greenfield airports and the expansion of the Patna airport are also planned as part of the types of green field investment Bihar is trying to promote.The Bihta site has a working IAF base, and an IE report quoted an official stating that the state government has already acquired 108 acres for the project.The new airport at Bihta will enhance air travel not just for Patna, but also for the neighboring districts of Bhojpur, Saran, and Buxar. As per the Center’s proposal, one of the new greenfield airports is proposed to be international and near Patna.The rest will all be domestic greenfield airports and would most probably be at Rajgir, Bhagalpur, and an unidentified location somewhere in north Bihar.Greenfield airports are those built on areas that have never been developed before, while a brownfield airport is constructed on a location that already has airport facilities such as runways and terminals.

The timing of this development appears to coincide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to the state on Monday where Modi will hold a rally in Bhagalpur, which will, in effect, mark the commencement of NDA's campaign in the state. Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar will also be attending the rally along with the Prime Minister.

The NDA has hope to retain control of Bihar for the state assembly elections for this year which will take place around October and November. On the other hand, the sole dominant force of the 2020 election Rashtriya Janata Dal claims that they are confident that they can retake the position of power.