Policy dilution to push Pune intl airport

The Centre's dilution of its policy on greenfield airports with regard to the number of airways and the distance between two airports is likely to work in favour of Pune which has been lobbying hard for an international airport.

Madhur Bajaj, the newly-elected president of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture told reporters said that among the things high on the chambers agenda now is an international airport of its own which has become necessary given the increasing investor interest in the city and its growing linkages with the world at large.

The city presently has a military airport which has a short runway which makes it impossible for large size aircraft to land and take off.

Bajaj said that the proposed site for the Pune international airport has been shifted from where it was earlier and the new site has been cleared by the ministry of defence. The only hitch then was the norm for a minimum of two runways applicable to greenfield airports.

"With the dilution of this norm to allow airports with one runway, the ground work for Pune's international airport can now be kicked off," Bajaj said.

About 2,000 acres of land has been identified at Chandos, 40 km from Pune for the proposed airport. MCCIA's honorary secretary A C Jain said the chamber had presented exhaustive statistics both local and international to the ministry of civil aviation after which the runway norm was relaxed.

"We pointed out to them that Gatwick, which is the world's sixth busiest airport has one runway and Pune can also go ahead with the same set up," Jain said.

The other stumbling block, the norm that required a distance of a minimum of 200 km between two airports has also been diluted to reduce this distance to 100 km, Jain clarified.

Pune's present airport has seen a huge increase in passenger traffic as the number of passenger has gone up 108 per cent in April - June period this year as compared with the same period last year. The freight movement is also on the rise showing an increase of over 55 per cent, Jain informed.

Bajaj said that an international convention centre as well as an international exhibition centre has been planned for the city and neither can be viable unless the city has its international airport.

"While we keep following up on the new airport, we will also push for upgradation of the facilities at the existing airport," he added.