Nagpur Airport was commissioned in the year 1917-18 and was operated by Royal Military Force, Indian Air Force, National Airport Authority and Airports Authority of India till 2009. This airport was named as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in 2005 and the first scheduled international flight took off from this Airport in October 2005.
In order to remove the development backlog of Vidarbha, Government of Maharashtra decided to develop Nagpur airport as a Hub airport for both Passengers and Cargo Accordingly, in the year 1999, this project was assigned to MSRDC. On the directions of the Government of Maharashtra, MSRDC conducted the Techno-economic Feasibility Study (TEFS) through a consortium of consultants led by M/s L & T Ramboll in the year 2001. The study included :
Traffic Study
Master Planning
Environmental Impact Assessment
Estimation
Financial Analysis
As per the TEFS carried out, the traffic projections, considering the horizon year 2030 was envisaged as follows :
Passenger Traffic
Domestic
4.3 Mln Passengers
International
9.9 Mln Passengers
Cargo Traffic
Domestic
70 806 MTs
International
8,00.000 MTs
The major highlights / recommendations of the TEFS are as below :
Expansion of existing runway from 3200 x 45 mtrs. to 4000 x 60 mtrs
Development of second parallel runway of 4000 x 60 mtrs. along with taxiways to cater Code 'P operations
Construction of Terminal building of approx area of 3 lakh sq. mtrs
Providing other facilities like ATC, navigational aids, etc.
MRTS connecting airport to city, etc.
On 18 Dec 2006 an MOU was signed between the State and Central Governments wherein it was decided to form a Joint Venture Company with Maharashtra Airports Development Ccmpany (MADC) holding 51% and Airports Authority of India (AAI) holding 49% equity participation and also to transfer the assets of Nagpur airport to such Joint Venture Company, including the AAI staff other than CNS and ATM.
A Joint Venture Agreement to this effect was signed on 22nC February 2009 and a joint venture company, viz. MIHAN India Ltd. (IMIL) was registered on 09 June 2009
The joint venture company, viz MIL took over this airport from Airports Authority of India (AAI) for operations, maintenance and further development with effect from 07 August 2009.
Pursuant to taking over of this Airport MIL, considering the change in aviation sector, decided to revise the Master Plan of this airport and accordingly a revised Master Plan along with its cost implication and phase-wise implementation was assigned to M/s. India Aviation and Consulting Support LLP. The broad features of the revised Master Plan are as follows :
To expand the existing runway from 3200 x 45 meters to 3,600 x 45 meters
The provision of second parallel runway of 4000 x 60 meters, along with the requisite taxiways to cater Code 'F operations
To expand the existing runway from 3200 x 45 meters to 3,600 x 45 meters
To initially construct an apron to park 16 aircrafts
To construct an integrated Terminal Building of approx.. area of 74,000 sq. meters
Provision of ATC, CNS., a loyal Fire Station, Fire Fighting arrangements, etc
Provision of 9 Nos. of hangers for aircraft maintenance
Provision of underground Fuel Hydrant System
Development strategy through PPP wherein Phase I to be develop at a cost of ₹ 1,085 crore from the year 2015 - 2030 and to develop Phase II at an approximate cost of 425 crore from 2013-2045
As on date, the revised Master Plan has been approved by the Board of Directors of MIL and the draft Request for Quotation (RFQ) is under advance stage of preparation.