Rs 190 crore terminal on anvil for Kartarpur Corridor

The Union home ministry has approved the development of a passenger terminal building spread over 2,160 square metres and costing about Rs 190 crore for the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, said a senior official who did not want to named. The terminal building will accommodate as many as 5,000 passengers daily.

The design of the passenger terminal building has been inspired by the Khanda sign – a symbol of the Sikh faith that represents the values of oneness and humanity.

The tricolour will be hoisted on a 300-ft flagpole at the international border.

The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur — the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism — with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

The terminal building, spread over 50 acres will be developed in two phases. In the first Phase, about 15 acres will be developed. Land has been acquired for the first phase, the official said. In the second phase, a hospital, accommodation and other amenities for pilgrims will be developed.

The Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), mandated to build and operate integrated check posts along the land borders of the country, will develop the terminal building. LPAI has been asked by the government to complete the construction before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in November 2019.

On November 28, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor, which will connect Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan’s Narowal to Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Gurdaspur. Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu laid the digital foundation stone of the project on the Indian side on November 26 last year.

Two days later, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor on November 28 last year.

First Published: Mar 10, 2019 07:27 IST