GMR Group plans modernisation and development of Nagpur airport

On Friday, GMR Group, an infrastructure development company, announced its plans of modernising and developing Nagpur Airport after the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court ruling. The company currently runs Delhi and Hyderabad International Airports. According to the plan, it decides to develop Nagpur Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in a phased manner having a total capacity of 30 million passengers yearly, aiming to increase capacity to over 1,000% in the coming years. The existing Nagpur Airport facility has been operating close to the maximum capacity, a statement said. According to GMR, in FY20, the airport handled around three million passengers and 9,500 metric tonnes of cargo. Apart from Delhi and Hyderabad airports, GMR undertakes greenfield airport constructions in Andhra, Goa, and Bhogapuram. In 2018, GMR won the highest operation and management (O&M) bids for the development of Nagpur International Airport in a public-private partnership (PPP). The further process was conducted by Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) India Ltd. A Letter of Award (LoA) was also issued to GMR in March 2019. The Maharashtra government later decided to cancel the tender in March 2020, with MIHAN issuing a letter cancelling the bidding process. GMR said that in the first development phase, GMR would initiate the transformation of four years, including new greenfield integrated terminal construction, with the initial capacity to handle four million passengers yearly, and aeronautical infrastructure, including taxiways, car parking, aprons, and a new cargo terminal. Besides, the existing passenger terminal will be redeveloped to improve its capacity, passenger facilities, the introduction of modern technology, and enhancing the overall ambience to provide traffic and operational requirements. GMR will invest in Nagpur Airport for terminal expansion, handling capacity, developing the second runway, and a new Air Traffic Control Tower (ATC) to boost capacity for the next 20 to 30 decades, it said. The initial capacity of Nagpur Airport is 20,000 metric tonnes yearly. GMR will develop the cargo with its experience from Delhi and Hyderabad airports, along with global cargo hubs in Hong Kong, Paris, Memphis, and Dubai, to help in the city's growth, GMR said. Image Source Also read: Ministry of Aviation plans large scale expansion by 2025 Also read: Biju Patnaik Airport revamp: Airport to get facelift within one year