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 techno-economic feasibility study.
Project Faced Local Opposition
The MADC, acting as the nodal agency for the project, has issued a comprehensive tender inviting global technical and financial experts to design an airport master plan, obtain statutory clearances and manage the selection of a private concessionaire on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
The appointed consultant will lead an exhaustive, two-phase mandate structured over an eight-month operational timeframe. The first phase, spanning five months, will include engineering studies, master planning, and securing statutory approvals. The contractor will study advanced topographical mapping, geotechnical bore-hole testing, hydrological flood-modelling and civil layout planning for utility line diversions.
Airspace Compatibility To Be Assessed
The first phase will also include assessment of airspace with mapping of obstacle limitation surface (OLS) to ensure zero airspace conflict with nearby IAF and civil air routes as well as econometric modelling to project passenger, cargo and aircraft movement trajectories up to financial year 2070-71 at 5-year intervals, starting from FY 2028-29. This phase will also include preparing layouts detailing parallel wide-body runways, passenger terminals, cargo hubs, maintenance hangars, commercial zoning, and dedicated ground access corridors.
The second phase, spanning three months, will include drafting the project information memorandum, concession agreements and other formal documents. MADC also requires the contractor to organise global roadshows at a minimum of four international locations to market the PPP concession to international airport developers and operators.
With land acquisition largely in its final stages and the tender process officially underway, commissioning the Techno-Economic Feasibility Study marks the most significant concrete step toward bringing a world-class, multi-runway international aviation gateway to Western Maharashtra.
The push for a greenfield facility follows severe, long-standing operational constraints at Pune’s existing airport in Lohegaon. Owned and operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Lohegaon shares its airfield infrastructure with the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) air force station. This joint usage has imposed significant restrictions on civil aviation operations, such as daily non-operational blackout periods between 8am and 10.30am reserved for defence requirements, severely choking daytime and nighttime slot availability.
With civil passenger demand scaling to approximately 10 million passengers annually, the airport faces acute land scarcity, limiting aircraft parking bays, terminal handling capabilities, and movements. Moreover, the existing runway cannot be easily expanded to accommodate larger wide-body aircraft or the anticipated rush from the expanding regional connectivity scheme.
Owing to the inability to expand the Lohegaon facility to match the economic trajectory of Pune – a major industrial, educational, and IT hub – the State Government designated a site after acquiring approximately 1,250 hectares of land across seven villages near Saswad, which include Ekhatpur, Khanvadi, Kumbharvalan, Munjavadi, Pargaon, Udachiwadi and Vanpuri.
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