IRB Infra speeds up Rs. 300-cr airport project

IRB Infrastructure Developers (IRB), which is a Mumbai-based infrastructure building major, has fast tracked Rs. 300-cr green field airport project it managed to secure for the first time in the aviation sector and that it is slated for completion in the next 7-8 months. The project is located at Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra at a distance of 170-km north of tourist hotspot Goa in the picturesque Konkan belt on the western ghats and is built by IRB Sindhudurg Airport Private Limited on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis under a 95-year concession agreement with MIDC. As a matter of fact, the aviation ministry would like to make Sindhudurg a cargo hub and talks between IRB‘s management and civil aviation ministry are currently on. The airport is part of the government‘s regional connectivity plan to develop smaller cities through air traffic. It is being built in Chipi-Parule in Sindhudurg district and will be the 14th airport in Maharashtra serving both domestic and international charter flights on a 2.5-km runway commanding a capacity to handle 800 passengers arrivals and departures during peak hours, said official sources.