To support and facilitate development along with connectivity, employment and tourism in the region, the airstrip is being constructed into a commercial airport, consisting of a passenger terminal, a runway with taxiways connecting to it, a helipad, a passenger terminal, a flying club, an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower among other ancillary facilities like a fire station, a cargo handling area etc.

[1] During World War II, the airfield hosted the United States Army Air Force 444th Bombardment Group.

In 1943, it was designated as a B-29 Superfortress Base for the planned deployment of the United States Army Air Forces XX Bomber Command to India.

On 11 April 1944, the 444th arrived after a month-long deployment over the South Atlantic transport route after completing training at Great Bend AAF, Kansas.

Kwanghan Airfield (A-3), located just to the southwest of Chengdu in south-central China, was designated as the forward staging base for the group.

For this role, they were stripped of nearly all combat equipment and used as flying tankers and each carried seven tons of fuel for the six-hour (one-way) flight, which itself was almost at the limit of the B-29's range.

In the present century, the airfield has been considered to be rebuilt and redeveloped to make it a commercial airport and handle passenger traffic.

The second phase will expand the airport at an area of 272 acres, consisting of a passenger terminal, a runway, an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and ancillary facilities and services, which could be acquired easily because the airfield is mostly free of encroachments.

[6][7][8] As of February 2023, there is no specific deadline given for the completion of the airport's development project, however, the Government of West Bengal has given an assurance that the work is progressing.