In a boost to temple tourism, the Shirdi airport will now be able to land bigger planes. The over 350-hectare airport is located at Kakadi in Kopargaon, 14 km from Shirdi. The airport will soon be able to carry out flight operations at night. Work on a new passenger terminal to handle rising footfalls and a cargo terminal will also begin.

MADC has finalised Anjani Logistics Pvt Ltd as the contractor for setting up a multispecialty hospital and nursing home at Mihan. The firm has got the tender to build and operate the hospital on 0.3 acres. This would be the second medical facility inside the Mihan campus after AIIMS.

The district administration is in the process of completing land acquisition for the greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district. GMR Group signed an agreement with the state government to develop Bhogapuram International Airport in June 2020. However, work is yet to begin due to incomplete land acquisition.

MADC plans to invite bids for around 12 acres of land in the non-SEZ area of the project. This includes land being offered to build a star hotel. Tenders will be issued for taking up 6.5 acres of land for the hotel. Land will also be offered for setting up residential-cum-commercial areas and a nursing home.

The Orvakal Airport in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh has launched commercial flight operations. This will be the sixth civilian airport in the state after Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Vijayawada (all three international) and Rajamahendravaram and Kadapa (domestic).

Flight operations from the newly-built Chipi airport in Konkan’s Sindhudurg district will commence from January 2021. The matter got delayed owing to the lockdown, as a lot of equipment was to be brought from abroad. The airport, which cost Rs. 520 crore, can handle 200 passengers a day.

The state government has given in-principle approval to Rs. 100 crore for the Shirdi airport in the next two financial years. The facility for night landing is ready and a team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will check it soon for approval. The movement of cargo will also start from the airport soon.

The Maharashtra government has proposed to set up a new international airport in order to reduce the heavy air traffic at Pune International Airport. The airport site at Purandar has been finalised and the administration has prepared various options for land acquisition.

APADCL has built the Kurnool Airport on about 970 acres at a cost of Rs. 160 crore. The runway was developed with a length of 2,000 metres and a width of 30 m.