Although the airport is a ‘civil enclave’ at Indian Air Force’s Lohegaon Station, the expanded Lohegaon airport will considerably increase the passenger handling capacity until the new airport starts functioning.
The newly integrated terminal building at Lohegaon Airport is likely to be completed by September 2022, officials said.
Although the airport is a ‘civil enclave’ at Indian Air Force’s Lohegaon Station, the expanded Lohegaon airport will considerably increase the passenger handling capacity until the new airport starts functioning.
The new integrated terminal building with a massive 5 lakh square feet built-up area will be able to handle 19 million passengers per annum. The capacity of the current terminal building is a mere 9 million passengers per annum.
Pune Airport Director Santosh Dhoke told The Indian Express, “Nearly 61 per cent work of the project is complete and we expect to wind it up by September 2022. Once completed the building will increase the passenger capacity by two times and will be key in supporting the traffic growth. The expanded airport will provide a soothing, international travel experience for the flyers.”
The new terminal building with a total budget of Rs 475 cr will be centrally air-conditioned with five passenger boarding bridges, eight escalators, 15 lifts, 34 check-in counters, an in-line Baggage handling system, five conveyors belts in arrival thus elevating the civil enclave to metro airports in the country.
The building will be an energy-efficient building with a 4-star GRIHA rating. Provision of 36000 sq. ft. space for food and beverage, and retail outlets. The building will have a 400 Mtr. x 40 Mtr canopy on the city side covering the existing building and the new building which will give a magnificent look to the airport from the city side.
As part of the expansion drive, the airport is also building a multilevel car park which will have ground plus three storeys and 2 basement floors at cost of Rs. 120 cr. The car park will have a capacity for parking of 1024 vehicles. The building will also have a provision of 15000 square meters of commercial area.
“The multilevel car parking will be connected to the departure area of the existing building with a sky bridge with the provision of travelator. The physical progress of the work is 65 per and it’s expected that the parking facility can be opened up by April 2022,” said Dhoke.
Pune MP Girish Bapat who heads the Airport Advisory Committee, said that the project the expansion project will benefit flyers not only from Pune but also from several districts in the neighbourhood.
– Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here.
“I have been following up the project for last three years and it has seen fast progress. We will open up the new building by September 2022 to meet the growing demands from flyers from Pune and adjacent districts. It will be a swanky, state-of-the-art facility,” said Bapat.
Timeline
- November 2017: Agis India, a subsidiary of the France-headquartered company, submitted the report of the topography survey of the site.
- March 2018: Pune Airport administration gets possession of 15.84 acre land from Indian Air Force for the expansion project
- May 2018: AAI floats tender inviting bids from construction firms
- December 2018: Construction work starts on the site
- September 2022: Expected completion of the project
Source: Read Full Article