Chandigarh, Jan 30 (IANS) North India's first private sector greenfield international airport will soon come up near the industrial hub of Ludhiana in Punjab.

Covering an area of 3,000 acres, the 'Aerotropolis' is modelled on the lines of similar facilities in Singapore and Frankfurt.

Punjab's Civil Aviation Minister Upinderjit Kaur said: 'The Aerotropolis will be built in the private sector by Messrs Bengal Aerotropolis which has Changi International Airport of Singapore as partner.'

'The aerotropolis would come up in an area covering 3,000 acres and would be the first greenfield international airport in north India to be set up in the private sector. The Aerotopolis a modern age concept of a township-oriented airport, along the Singapore-Frankfurt model.

'It would be developed with a total fiscal layout of Rs.17,500 crore (Rs.175 billion/$3.77 billion),' she added.

Punjab will also become the first state in the country to set up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub at Ropar, 45 km from Chandigarh, for the civil aviation sector.

The minister added that the MRO would be developed over an area of 50 acres near Ropar at a cost of Rs.30 crore.

Kaur said that international flights from the Chandigarh-Mohali airport would be operational from June 2010.