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CM, DCM push for immediate land acquisition to kickstart Purandar Airport
The airport is expected to not only ease congestion at Pune’s Lohegaon airport but also serve as a key logistics and international transit hub for central Maharashtra
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar have jointly called for immediate land acquisition to begin the proposed Purandar International Airport, a much-anticipated project aimed at decongesting Pune’s Lohegaon airport and enhancing regional connectivity in western Maharashtra.
In a comprehensive review meeting held at Vidhan Bhavan today, the Chief Minister noted that the preliminary survey for the project has already been completed and it is now crucial for the Pune district collector to act swiftly.
“All necessary surveys for Purandar Airport are done. Now, we must move to the next step of acquiring land on a priority basis. I expect the district administration to begin this process immediately, without any bureaucratic delays,” said CM Fadnavis.
“Once operational, this airport will drastically strengthen Maharashtra’s civil aviation footprint and bring in economic growth, investment, and jobs to the Pune region,” he added.
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar underscored the need to build the airport in line with global standards. “Purandar Airport must be equipped to handle large-body aircraft and international traffic from day one. For this, we must ensure that the master plan includes long runways, large terminals, cargo capacity, and hangar space for aircraft maintenance and parking,” said Pawar.
“I urge all departments to coordinate closely and act fast so that construction can start at the earliest,” he added.
MADC vice chairperson Swati Pandey gave a detailed presentation outlining the roadmap for the Purandar project, timelines, and projected impact on air traffic in the Pune region. Other officials present included additional chief secretary Sanjay Sethi, MIDC CEO P. Velarasu, and Pune divisional commissioner Dr Chandrakant Pulkundwar.
Purandar Airport is a long-pending infrastructure dream for Pune, and the government’s renewed push signals a serious commitment to begin groundwork soon. Once completed, the airport is expected to not only ease congestion at Pune’s Lohegaon airport but also serve as a key logistics and international transit hub for central Maharashtra.
According to a notification issued on March 10 by the Industries, Energy, Labour and Mining Departments of the state government, and signed by S. L. Pulkundwar, joint secretary, a total of 2,753.053 hectares of land spread across 3,352 land survey numbers in seven villages of Purandar taluka has been declared an ‘Industrial Area’ with immediate effect. In addition, around 70 hectares of land will be acquired from the state forest department. The Purandar airport project requires the acquisition of 2,673.982 hectares of land across seven villages: Vanpuri, Udachiwadi, Kumbharvalan, Ekhatpur, Munjwadi, Khanwadi and Pargaon.
