Centre approves ₹9,814 crore infra push with airport, ring road projects in Rajasthan, Odisha

Mint

2 days ago

New Delhi: The Cabinet on Tuesday cleared two major infrastructure projects worth ₹ 9,814 crore, approving the development of a greenfield airport at Kota-Bundi in Rajasthan and the construction of a six-lane capital region Ring Road in Odisha, signalling a strong push towards regional connectivity and industrial growth.
'The new Kota-Bundi airport, estimated at ₹ 1,507 crore, will be developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 440 hectares of land already transferred by the Rajasthan government,' said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister for information and broadcasting, while elaborating about the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting.
As per Vaishnaw, the facility, with a 3,200-metre runway, seven aircraft bays, and a 20,000-square-metre terminal building, is designed to handle two million domestic and international passengers annually and will be completed in two years.
It will be capable of operating A-321-type aircraft and will also cater to cargo traffic, giving a boost to Kota's industrial base and its position as India's leading coaching hub. The new facility will replace the existing Kota airport, which has limited capacity due to its small size and surrounding urbanization.
'The expansion of aviation infrastructure in smaller industrial hubs is critical to ensuring balanced regional growth,' Vaishnaw said, noting that the new airport could also help attract fresh investments in manufacturing and services in the region.
India's aviation network has expanded sharply, with the number of operational airports rising from 74 in 2014 to 162 in 2025. Annual passenger traffic has more than doubled from 16.8 crore to 41.2 crore over the same period, the minister said.
The second project is the ₹ 8,307 crore Capital Region Ring Road in Odisha. Extending 110.9 km, the six-lane access-controlled corridor will be developed under the Hybrid Annuity Model. It aims to divert commercial traffic from the congested Rameshwar-Tangi stretch, which passes through Khordha, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
The alignment will integrate with three national highways and one state highway, connecting 10 economic nodes, including a Special Economic Zone, a mega food park, textile and pharma clusters and four social nodes covering aspirational and tribal districts. The project is expected to generate nearly 1.7 crore person-days of direct and indirect employment.
'This is the largest project in Odisha. It will give a fillip to logistics and connectivity,' he said.
Both projects are part of the government's strategy to accelerate infrastructure development in eastern and northern India, balancing the growth seen in western and southern regions.