GMR to start development work at city airport from April 2025
| Date :28-Dec-2024 |
Staff Reporter
Dr Vipin Itankar is CMD, MIL
Dr Vipin Itankar is CMD, MIL
- Dr Vipin Itankar, District Collector has been entrusted with the additional responsibility of Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of MIHAN India Limited (MIL). He will look after the development of the airport, especially the work being handled by GMR Airports Limited. Dr Itankar is the first such officer who has been given the responsibility as CMD of MIL when there is an officer looking after Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) as Vice Chairperson and Managing Director (VC MD). It is still with Swati Pandey who played significant role in setting up Amravati airport and expediting projects in MIHAN including Patanjali, is still VC-MD of MADC.
The special arrangement about airport is being made by Government as one officer is needed to be dedicated to the monitoring of redevelopment work at the airport.
MIHAN India Limitedto monitor the progress
n The long-anticipated transformation of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur will officially begin when GMR Airports Limited (GAL) takes charge of development work from April 2025. It is a major milestone for the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) and its flagship project, MIHAN (Multimodal International Cargo Hub Airport at Nagpur).
The total sanctioned amount for this transformational project is Rs 700 crore.
The upgradation is set to create a state-of-the-art airport infrastructure, which will
expand both passenger and cargo operations.
A key objective of MIHAN has always been to position Nagpur as a cargo hub, significantly enhancing cargo handling and logistics in the region.
From April, 2025, MIHAN India Limited will monitor the work of GMR. Considering its significance, Government has placed this responsibility on the
shoulders of District Collector Dr Vipin Itankar.
GMR Airports will lead the transformation of city airport into a world-class facility. The first phase of this transformation includes enhancing the passenger terminal capacity to 4 million passengers annually. This ambitious project will also involve upgrading existing infrastructure, building a modern cargo terminal, and improving facilities with a new Air
Traffic Control (ATC) tower.
GMR Nagpur International Airport (GNIAL, a 100%
subsidiary of GAL) and MIHAN India executed the concession agreement for the project. This transformation is set to not
only enhance connectivity
within the Vidarbha region, but
also strengthen its economic infrastructure.
GAL’s commitment to modernising and expanding the airport includes a significant boost in cargo handling capabilities – increasing the capacity to 20,000 metric tons, said an official on condition of anonymity.
Dr Itankar, who has been entrusted with the responsibility of Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Airport (MIHAN India Limited) said, “It is the dream project of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that has finally come true. The project went through a lot of hurdles. Now it will get momentum.”
The battle in court delayed the project a bit but Fadnavis was consistently following it. Even Union Minister Nitin Gadkari could not resist himself by attributing the credit to Fadnavis of bringing GMR to Nagpur during ground breaking ceremony.