Navi Mumbai Airport Will Be Ready By 2024, Urgent Need For Pune Airport: Fadnavis

The under-construction Navi Mumbai international airport will become operational in 2024, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here on Sunday.

He was addressing the Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA).

Fadnavis also said that the "industrial culture" of Maharashtra will be back on track soon.

"Every stakeholder has to unite and work hard to make Maharashtra number one again," he added.

Fadnavis highlighted important projects like Pune Metro, EV transportation etc and said the ring road will prove to be the growth engine for the Pune region.

"The Ring Road in Pune will drive Pune’s growth for the next 10 years. An investment of Rs 30,000 crores is expected for the ring road, and this route will be a value generator of 1 to 10 lakh crores in the next 10 years. This ring road will be the engine of the development of Pune." Fadnavis noted.

"The work of two phases of Metro Rail is progressing rapidly in Pune. Given the industrial environment in Pune, Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad should be the first cities to use 100 percent electric vehicles or alternative fuels." Fadnavis said.

He said the government has acknowledged the urgent need for the Purandar airport in the Pune district and that the government is taking efforts for the same.

“Pune Airport has a great contribution to the economic development of Pune. Major countries of the world are connected with Pune. There is a need to increase flights from Pune. It is necessary to build a new airport for Pune as it is not possible to operate the current airport with more than a limited capacity. Efforts have been started to build a new airport at Purandar." Fadnavis added.

He also said the government is planning a logistics hub at Purandar along with the airport. There is a need to connect the Navi Mumbai and Purandar airports.

"Maharashtra's economy should reach USD one trillion if India has to achieve the USD 5 trillion target," the Deputy CM said.

He stressed the importance of the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) and Mumbai Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) for infrastructure and said Maharashtra is the startup capital of India.

"15,000 out of 18,000 startups are from Maharashtra besides 25 out of 100 unicorns. We want to ease connectivity and approach to all MIDCs. We should bring more investment in the fintech sector," he added.

"The necessary industrial environment for such industries has been created in the state. It should be considered how this industry-oriented environment can be taken forward. More emphasis has to be laid on infrastructure development." Fadnavis added.

"Maharashtra's economy should reach USD one trillion if India has to achieve the USD 5 trillion target," the Deputy CM said.

Former President of MCCIA Prataprao Pawar, President Sudhir Mehta, Designated President Deepak Karandikar, Director General Prashant Girbane, and others were present on this occasion.

(With inputs from PTI)