Will expedite expansion work

 

at Nagpur airport n Staff Reporter Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) will hand over 786 hectare land to MIHAN India Limited (MIL) that runs Nagpur’s Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport. This was decided in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Saturday regarding airport development. 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 MADC and its flagship project, MIHAN (Multimodal International Cargo Hub Airport at Nagpur). The Saturday meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Sethi, Principal Secretary (Urban Development) Assem Gupta, CIDCO Vice President Vijay Singal, Chairman and Managing Director of MIL, Vice-Chairperson and Managing Director of

 

MADC Swati Pandey, Chairman and Managing Director and District Collector Dr Vipin Itankar and others. Expansion to be done by GMR Airports Limited includes constructing new parallel runway. Its initial length is 3,200 meter. The existing runway is proposed to be extended by 400 m in Phase II from beginning of Runway 32 in South East direction with 7.5 m shoulder on both sides and strengthening of existing runway. A parallel taxiway South of the new runway is proposed in Phase-I. The partial portion of length 1,270 meter of this taxi track has already been constructed by MIL to provide connectivity to Air India MRO.

 

The remaining portion of the length of 535 meter on the North West side and 1,395 meter at South East side to make the full parallel taxi track of 3200 meter is proposed. A plot of land 100 m x 120 m for the Air Traffic Control tower and ATC Technical Block is provided for almost in the centre of the space between the two parallel runways. ATC Tower of height 45 m at the floor of the tower is proposed at the location, terminal building, cargo complex, city side developments etc. Existing airport is located over 520.83 hectare (1,287 acres) land. For proposed development of existing airport, additional 865.21 hectare (2,138 acres) land free from all encumbrances will be handed over by the MADC to MIL. Total land under proposed airport is 1,386.04 hectare (3,425 acres). Structure of Air Force Station and residential houses from Shivangaon area will be demolished in this expansion and debris will be used for land levelling in the premises. The site of proposed development work at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport is free from vegetation. 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 progress of GMR. Considering its significance, Government has placed this responsibility on the shoulders of District Collector Dr Vipin Itankar.at