{
  "id": 16231102,
  "title": "Maharashtra Fast-Tracks Long-Awaited Purandar Greenfield Airport; MADC Invites Bids For Master Plan & PPP Concessionaire Selection",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/maharashtra-fast-tracks-long-awaited-purandar-greenfield-airport-madc",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-23T20:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/maharashtra-fast-tracks-long-awaited-purandar-greenfield-airport-madc-invites-bids-for-master-plan-ppp-concessionaire-selection"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Maharashtra government has set the stage for the long-awaited Purandar Greenfield Airport, located in Pune's outskirts. The project has faced significant local opposition in the past, but now the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has issued a tender seeking bids for a techno-economic feasibility study. This marks a crucial milestone in the project's development.\n\nThe MADC, the lead agency for the project, has invited global technical and financial experts to design an airport master plan, obtain necessary clearances, and manage the selection of a private concessionaire through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The consultant will oversee a two-phase endeavor lasting eight months. The first phase involves engineering studies, master planning, and securing statutory approvals. This includes advanced topographical mapping, geotechnical bore-hole testing, hydrological flood-modelling, and civil layout planning for utility line diversions. Additionally, the phase will assess airspace compatibility and project passenger, cargo, and aircraft movement trajectories up to FY 2070-71.\n\nThe second phase, spanning three months, will focus on drafting the project information memorandum, concession agreements, and other formal documents. The MADC also requires the contractor to conduct global roadshows at least in four international locations to market the PPP concession to potential developers and operators. With land acquisition nearing completion and the tender process officially launched, the Techno-Economic Feasibility Study represents a significant step towards establishing a world-class, multi-runway international airport in Western Maharashtra.\n\nThis development comes in the wake of severe operational constraints at Pune's existing Lohegaon Airport, operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Lohegaon shares airfield infrastructure with the Indian Air Force (IAF), leading to daily non-operational blackout periods for civil aviation. With passenger demand expected to reach 10 million annually, the airport faces land scarcity, limiting aircraft parking bays, terminal handling capabilities, and movement. Furthermore, the current runway cannot be easily expanded to accommodate larger aircraft or meet the growing demand from the expanding regional connectivity scheme.",
  "summary": "Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has officially set the wheels in motion for the long-delayed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje Greenfield International Airport at Purandar in Pune, which faced severe protests from the locals until a year ago. After completing the pre-feasibility study, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has floated a tender inviting bids for the airport's…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}