The Union Cabinet on Friday met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and approved two airports and three Metro transport projects involving investment of nearly Rs 34,000 crore.

Briefing newspersons on the five projects, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said two defence airports in Bagdogra in West Bengal and Bihta near Patna in Bihar will be developed for greater civil aviation use. The Metro projects will be in Thane, Pune and Bengaluru.

He said the prime minister had said the government in its third consecutive term would take big decisions. So far, projects worth Rs 1,54,000 crore have been approved and with Friday’s approvals, the total cost of the approved projects reaches near Rs 2 lakh crore.

The projects would generate economic growth, creating a large number of employment opportunities.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the development of a New Civil Enclave at Bagdgora Airport, Siliguri, West Bengal at an estimated cost of Rs 1549 crore.

The proposed Terminal Building spans 70,390 sqm and is designed to accommodate 3000 Peak Hour Passengers (PHP), with an annual capacity to handle 10 million passengers.

For Bihar, the CCEA approved the development of a New Civil Enclave at Bihta, Patna, at an estimated cost of Rs.1413 crore. This will meet the growing air travel demand of the Patna capital region.

The proposed New Integrated Terminal Building at Bihta Airport spans 66,000 sqm and is designed to handle 3000 Peak Hour Passengers (PHP) and annually cater to 50 lakh passengers.

At present the country has Metro services in 21 cities. For Bengaluru, the Cabinet approved Phase-3 of Bangalore Metro Rail Project with two elevated corridors for a length of 44.65 Km with 31 stations.

Corridor-1 will be from JP Nagar 4thPhase to Kempapura (along Outer Ring Road West) for a length of 32.15 Km with 22 stations and Corridor-2 will be from Hosahalli to Kadabagere (along Magadi Road) for a length of 12.50 Km with 9 stations.

On operationalization of Phase-3, Bengaluru city will have 220.20 Km of active Metro Rail Network. The total completion cost of the project is Rs 15,611 crore.

For Pune, the growing hub of industrial and educational activity, the Cabinet approved the Swargate to Katraj Underground Line Extension of the existing PCMC-Swargate Metro Line of Pune Metro Phase-I project.

The new extension is known as the Line-l B extension and will span 5.46 km and will include three underground stations, connecting key areas such as Market Yard, Bibwewadi, Balaji Nagar, and the Katraj suburbs.

The project, aimed at providing seamless connectivity in Pune, is set to be completed by February, 2029. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 2954.53 crore, which will be shared by a joint venture of the Mahrashtra government and the Centre.

The Cabinet also approved Thane Integral Ring Metro Rail Project corridor, Maharashtra. The 29-km corridor will run along the periphery of west side of Thane city with 22 Stations.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 12,200.10 crore, with equal equity from the Central and State governments. Funds would also be raised through innovative financing methods such as by selling Station naming and access rights for corporate, monetization of assets, Value Capture Financing route. The Project is likely to be completed by 2029.