HALWARA, May 21 — The newly opened Halwara Airport will serve as a primary catalyst for industrial investment and commercial expansion in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann asserted during a joint site inspection with AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
The terminal, completed with a state layout of 54.67 crore rupees, is designed to boost global and domestic trade connectivity. Following the successful launch of commercial flights, the state government is now shifting focus toward securing federal approval to name the venue after Ghadar Party leader Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha.
The administration maintained that upgrading regional aviation assets is crucial to establishing Punjab as a competitive destination for international manufacturing and commercial enterprise.
“This airport will help in easy movement of entrepreneurs, traders and industrialists from the region as well as other parts of the country to Punjab, thereby boosting trade, commerce and economic activity,” Mann stated.
The Chief Minister indicated that flight frequencies would expand rapidly to accommodate growing passenger demand, which will sequentially strengthen regional economic stability.
“The operationalisation of this airport will greatly facilitate the people of the region and also attract leading entrepreneurs from across the globe to make large investments in Punjab,” Mann affirmed.
The push to name the Indian Air Force Station Halwara commercial enclave after Sarabha follows prior administrative efforts that successfully named Mohali International Airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Adampur airport after Sri Guru Ravidass Maharaj Ji.
“Even Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh considered Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha as his role model,” Mann observed, pointing out the historical significance of the martyr’s ties to aviation studies abroad. “Naming Halwara airport after him will be a befitting tribute to the great martyr.”
Parallel to the expansion of commercial flights at Halwara, the state government announced plans to convert the Sahnewal airport building into a functional pilot training center. The initiative aims to offer subsidized aviation courses for local youth, maximizing state resources while the administration simultaneously bargains with the central government for more favorable commercial flight timings.
