MADC sets to award ₹1,685 cr airport contract

Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) is all set to award a contract to expand the Nagpur International airport at an investment of ₹1,685 crore. The nodal agency will award the contract to one of five bidders including Essel Infraprojects, GMR, GVK, PNC Infratech and a consortium of Tata Realty and Tata Projects, who have bid for the expansion of the airport project and the entire process is slated to be completed in the next two-three months. According to Ernst & Young (E&Y), whom MADC has engaged for the purpose has estimated that passenger volumes will touch 25 lakh this year. E&Y has forecast passenger traffic to grow 15% year-on-year (Y-o-Y). In order to cater to the growing passenger volume, MADC has planned to expand the airport in phases and planned to end of the first phase of development by 2022, the capacity will go upto 40 lakh from 10 lakh currently, VC & MD of MADC, Suresh Kakani, said, adding that the presence of export-oriented industries in the special economic zone (SEZ) at the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport (MIHAN), the technology parks under construction as well as the lack of an international airport in the region are among the reasons why passengers volumes have been growing rapidly at Nagpur Airport.