PATNA, Oct. 9 -- The Prime Minister's Office's (PMO) project monitoring group (PMG) inspected the stalled Bihta airport project on Thursday, amid concerns regarding its slow progress and the long-term viability of the proposed Rs.1,413-crore civil enclave, officials said. The two-member team reviewed the current status of land acquisition and physical development for the project, which was originally conceived as an alternative to Patna's Jay Prakash Narayan International (JPNI) airport. The team had sought a status report from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) before visiting the site. Officials said construction has made little headway, with work reportedly stalled for nearly eight months. The project's foundation work itself remains incomplete, with rainwater filling pits dug at the site. The Centre approved the Bihta civil enclave in August 2024, targeting completion by 2027. The project includes a 66,000-square-metre integrated terminal designed to handle 3,000 peak-hour passengers and five million passengers annually in the first phase. Its capacity can subsequently be expanded to 10 million passengers a year. The project also envisages an apron with 10 parking bays for Airbus 321, Boeing 737-800 and A320 aircraft, besides two link taxiways. The scope of work includes constructing a new integrated terminal building, utility building, elevated road, electro-mechanical work, and installing airport systems, IT systems, and security systems. Additionally, the agency will provide comprehensive maintenance and operational support. The slow progress has prompted a fresh review of the project, particularly as Bihar also approved in principle a greenfield international airport at Sonepur. The development has raised questions over Bihta's long-term role and viability, especially after the redevelopment of Patna airport's terminal, around 30 km away. Bihta was originally planned to ease pressure on JPNI airport, whose expansion is constrained by its 2,072-metre runway, dense habitation and surrounding structures, including the Secretariat clock tower and the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, a protected forest. The AAI also proposed additional land at Bihta to extend its runway from 8,800 feet to 9,000 feet, potentially enabling international operations by larger aircraft and direct connectivity to Gulf and Southeast Asian destinations. The airport could also provide an operational alternative during periods of poor visibility in winter, when flight disruptions are frequent at Patna. A modern Category-II/III instrument landing system at Bihta could improve aircraft operations in low-visibility conditions up to 50 metres. With a longer runway, aviation experts said Bihta could have emerged as an ideal alternative to Patna airport, especially given the existing IIT, industrial hub, an elevated corridor and runway expansion proposed for the area, and the IAF having already approved commercial flight operations. The PMG, set up in 2013 as a special cell under the Cabinet Secretariat and functioning under the administrative control of the PMO, monitors large infrastructure projects worth Rs.500 crore and above and seeks to resolve regulatory and implementation bottlenecks....