21.7.21

Pune: New airport terminal building likely to become operational by 2022 I-Day

The new terminal building of the city airport will become operational by August 15 next year.

The official indicated that the project had been delayed by eight months because of the Covid-19 pandemic-induced restrictions.

An airport official said, 55% of the work have so far been completed. “The project has been partially affected because of the current restrictions, as only workers living at the site were allowed to work,” a senior airport official said.

As per an official of Egis India, the company facilitating the design and construction of the new building, had said work was stopped for around 40 days during the first lockdown last year.

“The second wave of the pandemic and the ensuing restrictions further affected the work. Some workers have left for their homes. However, the work did not stop. The unpredictability of the pandemic is such that it is difficult to commit anything,” another airport official said.

The new building, which is expected to increase the daily flight movements, including international flights, is coming up on the eastern side of the existing terminal building. “We are planning to complete construction of all important aspects of the building, which include the integration with the existing building so that flights can start seamlessly,” the airport official said.

Construction of the building started in December 2018 and a multi-level car parking facility (ground, three-storey and two basement floors) was being simultaneously constructed at ‘parking number-1’ of the airport. An official in-charge of the parking facility’s construction said getting the workers back had become a problem and air tickets were sent to them to return to Pune.

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