After Guwahati and Imphal, Agartala’s Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport is set to become the third international airport in the north-eastern region, after a `438 crore project under construction is completed in March 2021, Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials said on Monday.

Construction work on the new integrated terminal building of MBB Airport has been completed and now the interior work is going on. By March 31, all the work would be completed, an AAI official added.

“Through the MBB Airport, the state government is keen to begin air connectivity with Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries,” a senior AAI official told IANS preferring anonymity. He said the new terminal has been designed to handle 1,000 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours, making it an annual handling capacity of three million passengers.

“The new airport apron has the capacity to park six aircraft at a time. With a built-up area of 30,000 square metre, the new terminal building would be equipped with 20 check-in counters, four passenger boarding bridges, conveyor belts and passenger-friendly modern facilities and amenities. “Advanced intelligent building management systems have been used to optimise the consumption of energy,” the official added. He said locally available bamboo is used widely in the state for construction whereas tribal art work and crafts are included to promote cultural tourism.The art and craft work is displayed all over the terminal in the form of sculptures, ‘jaali’ work, furniture and murals. The bamboo architecture is represented in the facade of the terminal building by way of a floral ‘jaali’ pattern depicting the forests and greenery of the region, placed equidistant from each other.”Depiction of local motifs in metal cladding would create vibrancy while displaying glimpses of the local art to the passengers,” the AAI official said.