Consultant hunt begins for Raxaul airport upgrade

Patna: The govt has floated a tender to select an engineering consultancy service (ECS) firm for the redevelopment of Raxaul airport, located along the India-Nepal border in East Champaran district, as part of its push to strengthen state’s civil aviation sector.The reconstruction of the airport is expected to be completed by June 2028. CM Samrat Choudhary said on Wednesday that the tender process for selecting the ECS firm is already underway.“An important step has been taken to provide national and international connectivity to border areas. The Raxaul airport project will make air travel smoother in the Champaran region and boost trade, tourism and the local economy,” the CM said in a social media post.The selected ECS firm will oversee construction related to the runway, apron, taxiway and other airside infrastructure.“Spurred by the double-engine govt, Bihar is ready to touch new heights of development,” he added.At present, four airports — Patna, Gaya, Darbhanga and Purnia — are operational in the state, with the latter two located in border districts. The govt has also proposed to develop four smaller airports in border areas at Madhubani, Saharsa, Birpur and Valmiki Nagar.In addition, the state cabinet has approved proposals for four more airports, including two greenfield projects at Sonepur (Rs1,302 crore) and Sultanganj (Bhagalpur), as well as airports at Munger and Bihta.Earlier on Tuesday, while reviewing projects related to the Ganga Path in Munger and Bhagalpur, the CM directed officials to initiate work on the proposed Munger airport.