The West Bengal government has identified around 2,000 acres of land in Kalyani, Nadia district, for the proposed development of a second airport for Kolkata.
Speaking at a Transport Department event on Tuesday (21 July), Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the state had earmarked the site for the project and reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening transport infrastructure in collaboration with the Centre.
Adhikari claimed that the then Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had sought land for a second airport near Kolkata, but the previous state government informed the Centre that acquiring land in Bhangar was not feasible.
Adhikari also criticised the previous state government over the decline in Kolkata’s international aviation links, arguing that insufficient attention to the aviation sector led to the discontinuation of several overseas routes.
Located close to National Highway-12, the site is around 60 km from Kolkata’s existing airport and can be reached in roughly an hour. Officials said preliminary soil investigations indicate that the land meets the technical parameters required for airport development.
Alongside the proposed airport, the Chief Minister announced that West Bengal has joined the Centre’s UDAN regional connectivity scheme, securing support for the expansion of airports at Balurghat, Malda and Purulia.
