Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, inaugurated Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The airport is named after Valmiki, the author of the epic Ramayana.

The state-of-the-art airport will connect us to the Ayodhya Dham and the divine-grand-new Ram temple, PM Modi later said at a public event. In the first phase the airport can handle 10 lakh passengers annually and after the second phase, Maharishi Valmiki International Airport will cater to 60 lakh commuters annually, he added.

The Phase 1 of the airport is developed at a cost of more than Rs 1450 crore. The facade of the Terminal Building depicts the temple architecture of the upcoming Shri Ram Mandir of Ayodhya. The interiors of the terminal Building are decorated with local art, paintings and murals depicting the life of Bhagwan Shri Ram.

The terminal building of Ayodhya airport is also equipped with various sustainability features like insulated roofing system, LED lighting, rain water harvesting, landscaping with fountains, water treatment plant, sewage treatment plant, solar power plant and many other such features have been provided to meet GRIHA – 5 star ratings.

Modi also inaugurated the redeveloped Ayodhya Railway Station and flagged off new Amrit Bharat trains and Vande Bharat trains.  He also dedicated several other railway projects to the nation. Phase I of the railway station is developed at a cost of more than Rs 240 crore. The three-storey modern railway station building is equipped with all modern features like lifts, escalators, food plazas, shops for puja needs, cloak rooms, child care rooms, waiting halls. The station building will be ‘accessible for all’ and ‘IGBC certified green station building’.

The two new Amrit Bharat trains that were inaugurated included Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and Malda Town-Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express.

PM Modi also flagged off six new Vande Bharat Trains including Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Coimbatore-Bangalore Cantt Vande Bharat Express; Mangalore-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express; Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express and Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Vande Bharat Express.