PUNE: Deputy Chief Minister and Pune Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar has instructed officials to speed up the work of the proposed Purandar Airport on a war footing. He said extension of Lohegaon Airport in Pune and Solapur Airport too should be done on a war footing.
He was speaking at a review meeting held in the city on Saturday. It was attended by Labour Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar, Pune Police Commissioner K Venkatesham, Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissioner Sandeep Bishnoi, Pune Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, PMRDA Commissioner Vikram Kumar, District Collector Naval Kishore Ram and Zilha Parishad Chief Executive Officer Ayush Prasad.
With the rising passenger traffic putting pressure on the Lohegaon airport and to boost infrastructure support, Purandar airport project was announced in 2015. However, due to opposition from villagers, the land acquisition process is yet to begin and this delayed the project. The proposed Purandar airport was slated to come up in Pargaon Memane, Khanavdi, Munjawadi, Ekhatpur, Udachiwadi, Kumbharvalan and Vanpuri villages in Purandar region of Pune district. It was also decided earlier to appoint Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) as the nodal agency for implementing the project, while the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (Cidco) will be a major stakeholder in the SPV.
