Gadkari pitches for early clearances to Pune airport

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Union minister Nitin Gadkari has asked defence and civil aviation officials to expedite clearances to expansion of the Pune airport which is witnessing high traffic volumes. The road transport and highways minister was chairing a Prime Minister-appointed infrastructure group meeting.

The expansion project includes construction of a new terminal building at a cost of Rs 500 crore, a multilevel car parking for Rs 120 crore and a new cargo complex at a cost of about Rs 300 crore.

“Air traffic from Pune has grown substantially and there is an urgent need to expand the airport. I have directed the concerned civil aviation and defence officials to immediately provide necessary clearances for its expansion,” Gadkari told.

Traffic at Pune airport has doubled in the last three years to about 8.2 million passengers per annum. The meeting was attended by Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan and Power Minister R K Singh, besides airport and defence officials.