New airport terminal to begin operations in Oct 2023

With flight operations from Pune Airport having increased exponentially over the last few years, there was a need to expand the terminal building due to which the new integrated terminal building (NITB) project was initiated

PUNE: Five years and many missed deadlines later, the new airport terminal at Lohegaon Airport will finally be inaugurated in September and will begin operations in October, according to information shared by the Airport Authority of India (AAI). With flight operations from Pune Airport having increased exponentially over the last few years, there was a need to expand the terminal building due to which the new integrated terminal building (NITB) project was initiated.

According to AAI officials, work on the new terminal building is nearly 95% complete and various departments have already started trial runs of various systems and operations. (HT PHOTO)

An official AAI statement read, “The construction of the NITB at Pune Airport is in full swing, and is most likely to be completed in September 2023 and commissioned in October 2023. The total cost of the NITB project, with a built-up area of 50,000 square metres, is Rs475 crores.”

According to AAI officials, work on the new terminal building is nearly 95% complete and various departments have already started trial runs of various systems and operations. The NITB has a total built-up area of 50,000 square metres and the completed building will have 10 aerobridges and 72 check-in counters. Of the 10 aerobridges, three will be connected to the old and new terminal buildings. While the current terminal building sits on an area of 22,300 square metres, the total area occupied by the airport will be 74,300 square metres once the new terminal building is completed. The NITB work was awarded to a company named ITD Cementation India Ltd whereas France-based ‘Egis’ was appointed as consultant for the work.

Mangesh Rathi, a regular flyer, said, “The expansion work of the Pune International Airport at Lohegaon is being carried out by the AAI. The expansion work - which was started in December 2018 and was expected to be complete till the end of 2022 - is finally getting completed after several extensions and will be operational by October 2023.”

Rutuja Shinde, another frequent flyer, said, “We often travel from Pune airport to various destinations in the country and certainly, there is a need to expand the existing airport terminal building. Many a time, there is a heavy rush of passengers especially during the festive season and passengers have to wait for hours to check in and complete other procedures.”

The Pune Airport expansion project includes construction of: a new terminal building at a cost of Rs475 crores, a multilevel car parking at a cost of Rs120 crores, and a new cargo complex at a cost of Rs300 crores.