Defence Ministry allows transfer of 13 acre land for Pune airport

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), and Chairman of Infrastructure Committee, told the media that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved allocating 13 acres of Barrack Store Office (BSO) land of Pune Air Force to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the expansion of cargo infrastructure. Earlier, Gadkari agreed to provide the land to Pune Airport if it was provided land of its choice in Chandigarh. According to the officials, the Air Force requires a plot of land held by the AAI in Chandigarh. However, the AAI had agreed to barter the land in Chandigarh for the 13 acres of BSO land in Pune. Pune Airport Director Santosh Dhoke told the media that the additional land would address the land needs of the current airport to undertake the expansion of cargo infrastructure and add more aprons. He said that the land would address the problem of land scarcity for airport expansion towards the city. Pune airport will also add international and domestic cargo infrastructure and a few more aprons. Image Source Also read: New terminal building at Pune airport to be completed by Jan 2023