Maharashtra govt to build well-planned city around Shirdi airport

The Maharashtra government has decided to develop a well-planned city around Shirdi airport in Ahmednagar on the Navi Mumbai Airport-Influence Notified Area (NAINA) project lines in Navi Mumbai.

The decision to develop a well-planned city was taken in Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) meeting headed by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. The influence area around the airport has also been named ASHA-Area around Shirdi Hub Airport.

MADC is a special purpose firm founded by the state government to plan, construct, operate and maintain airports in Maharashtra.

The officials said that it has been designated as a special planning authority for the ASHA project. The firm will now prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the project.

Shirdi is a popular temple town in the country, and its airport is located at Kopargaon's Kakdi, which is 14 km from Shirdi which is spread over a 350 hectare area. It is the fourth busiest airport in Maharashtra after Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur in terms of passenger load. In 2020, it will be used by 569,000 passengers, rising from 229,000 in 2019.

The Maharashtra government is planning to obtain around 1,600-hectare of land around the airport to develop the city.

The plan is to have a well-planned city around Shirdi airport like the NAINA project around Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) in Navi Mumbai, said Valsa Nair, principal secretary, civil aviation general administration department.

In the project, they will be concentrating on developing four types of industries. These industries will be mainly for the maintenance and repair industry of aircraft, logistics, and cargo, infrastructure for hospitality, and religious tourism and hotels sector, said Deepak Kapoor, vice-chairman, and managing director, MADC.

A DPR will be prepared by the authority now. A team of urban planners working with MADC will identify areas and further steps will be taken.

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Also read: NMMC to launch development plan for Navi Mumbai