Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the new integrated terminal at Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport (LGBIA) in Guwahati, marking a major boost to aviation infrastructure in Northeast India. During the event, the Prime Minister also unveiled an 80-foot statue of Assam’s first chief minister, Gopinath Bardoloi, outside the airport premises.
The airport is named after Bardoloi, a prominent Congress leader who was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government. The statue has been sculpted by renowned artist Ram Sutar, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 101. Sutar was also the designer of the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, the world’s tallest statue.
The newly inaugurated Integrated Terminal 2 has been designed to handle 13.1 million passengers annually. Prime Minister Modi toured the facility, which has been constructed at a cost of ₹4,000 crore. Officials said the overall project cost stands at ₹5,000 crore, including ₹1,000 crore allocated for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities.
Spread across 1.40 lakh square metres, the terminal’s architecture reflects Assam’s biodiversity and cultural heritage. Authorities said the upgraded airport is expected to emerge as a key aviation hub for the Northeast and serve as an important gateway to Southeast Asia.
