The memorial has statues of Mahatma Gandhi and 80 Satyagrahis, who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March in 1930
Prime minister Narendra Modi will visit Surat and Dandi on Wednesday, in what will be his second visit to the state in less than a fortnight.
Officials said that in Surat, the Prime minister will lay the foundation stone for expansion of the terminal building at Surat airport.
"The terminal building will be spread over 25,500 square metre and constructed at a cost of Rs354 crore. It will be an eco-friendly sustainable building and will use solar energy and LED lighting," an official statement said.
On completion, the terminal building will have a peak handling capacity of 1,800 passengers.
The airport in the textile and diamond hub is the third busiest in the state after Ahmedabad and Vadodara in terms of both aircraft movement and passenger traffic. From a little over 5.57 lakh in 2017, passenger movement at Surat airport nearly doubled to 10.50 lakh in 2018.
During his visit, Modi is expected to announce commencement of international flights from Surat. The Air India Express said last week that it would launch Sharjah-Surat-Sharjah flight from February 16, putting Surat on the international air-map.
In Surat, Modi will interact with the youth at the New India Youth conclave. He will also inaugurate a private hospital and visit the facilities there.
The Prime Minister's next destination will be Dandi in Navsari district, where he will dedicate the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial to the nation on Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary.
The memorial has statues of Mahatma Gandhi and 80 Satyagrahis, who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March in 1930. The memorial also has 24 narrative murals depicting various events and stories from the march. Modi will walk through the memorial and also address a public meeting.
The Dandi March was a landmark event in India's freedom struggle. Mahatma Gandhi and 80 others had undertaken the 390-kilometre march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, and made salt from seawater, breaking the Salt Law, as a part of the Civil Disobedience Movement against the British.
This will be Modi's second visit to his home state in January. He was in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar for Vibrant Gujarat Summit and other events on January 17 and 18, and had visited Surat on January 19.
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