PATNA, March 11 -- The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Wednesday invited tenders for upgrading and developing the existing airport at Birpur to enable operations of small aircraft under the regional connectivity scheme initiative. The project aims to make the airport operational for "Code-2B" type aircraft - small 19-seater planes with a wingspan of 15 metres to less than 24 metres, typically used for short-haul regional flights for tourism and disaster and mitigation purposes. They can also be used by flight training organisations, said Nilesh Ramchandra Deore, special secretary in Bihar's civil aviation department. "The Rs.36.38-crore project will be executed in an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode. It includes construction of a pre-fabricated steel structure terminal building, a pre-engineered air traffic control (ATC) tower, a pre-engineered fire station and other associated airport infrastructure," said Deore. "The tender document specifies a project completion period of 450 days," he added. The development is part of the Centre's regional connectivity initiative, UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), aimed at improving air connectivity to smaller towns. The project is being implemented by AAI in partnership with the government of Bihar. The Bihar cabinet last year approved pre-feasibility studies for six small airports in the state, including Birpur. These studies assessed land availability, runway length and infrastructure requirements. Based on the findings, the state government in June 2025 signed a memorandum of understanding with AAI to develop four regional airports, including Birpur, Valmikinagar, Muzaffarpur and Saharsa. Prior to Birpur, the AAI had floated tenders for the construction of terminal building and runway at Muzaffarpur airport and terminal building at Valmikinagar airport. Tender for Saharsa airport is expected this month, said officials. The airports at Madhubani and Munger were taken off the list as the land acquisition cost there was around Rs.400 crore each, and a large number of settlements had also come up in the area which was earmarked for acquisition, said people familiar with the development. "The Centre, under the UDAN scheme has earmarked around Rs.75-80 crore each for the upgradation and development of the four proposed airports. Additionally, the Bihar government has also approved acquisition of around 88.83 acres of land for the Birpur airport project at an estimated cost of Rs.45 crore," said Deore....