Lucknow, Jul 18 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh government will soon undertake construction of an international airport at the Buddhist pilgrimage town of Kushinagar, around 320 km from here, an official said Wednesday.

The project is proposed to be built on the public-private partnership (PPP) model at an estimated cost of Rs.350 crore.

The existing air strip in Kushinagar would be upgraded to an international airport, a tourism department spokesperson said.

Around 615 acre land has been acquired from the civil aviation department and the project consultant has sought expression of interest from developers, the official added.

Efforts are on to get the viability gap funding from the central government, he said.

The government will also roll out a major action plan to develop the Buddhist circuit in the state, the tourism official said.

Kushinagar is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site where the body of Gautama Buddha was cremated. It became one of the four holy places declared by the Buddha to be fit places for pilgrimage for the pious -- the other three being Kapilavastu (near Lumbini), Bodh Gaya and Sarnath.