The Pune international airport will see another round of expansions this year as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to invest Rs 20 crore for developing infrastructure at the airport. AAI will take up three projects, including construction of six hangars, establishing a large canopy on the front side of the main terminal building of the airport and construction of a new administrative building of the AAI, Pune. AAI has already floated tenders for these projects, which is expected to be finalised by the end of next month.

"The six hangars will house small private planes at the airport," P S R K Sudhakar, Director, Pune Airport said. There are a number of private aircrafts owned by different corporate houses that make unscheduled trips to Pune. According to Sudhakar, the canopy on the front of the main terminal building would be 180 metres long and 30 feet deep. "This is being constructed for the benefit of travellers flying out of the airport or reaching Pune. This canopy would be an added cover for the passengers during the rainy season or extreme heat," he said.

A new state-of-the-art, three-storey administration building has been planned adjacent to the main terminal building. Once this building is completed, the AAI and the Central Industrial Security Force at Pune airport would be shifted to the new building. "This would enable us to use our present AAI and CISF offices in the main terminal building for passenger-related purposes. At present, we are handling over 8,000 passengers a day," informed Sudhakar. According to him, the three projects would be taken up in a phased manner and would take at least a year for its completion.