The Maharashtra government has approved the first phase of a Rs65-crore upgrade for Baramati airstrip, nearly nine months after a plane crash there killed former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others. The work will focus on runway safety, emergency response and core airport infrastructure.
The approval was announced on Thursday, 30 October, and marks the first step in implementing a wider improvement plan for the airstrip. The January 28 crash had brought Baramati’s safety infrastructure under scrutiny and prompted the state government to announce several upgrades, including facilities for night landings, in its budget.
The first phase will be undertaken by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd (MADC). The approved works include resurfacing the runway, developing runway safety areas, grading the surrounding ground and constructing a boundary wall.
The project also provides for an air traffic control tower and a prefabricated technical block. Additional safety infrastructure will include a fire station, an emergency room and a CCTV surveillance network, according to the report.
The combination of runway works, airside safety areas and emergency facilities indicates that the first phase is aimed at strengthening the airstrip’s basic operational and response systems. The approval does not, in the information available, specify the completion timeline or clarify which elements of the broader night-landing plan will be delivered in this phase.
MADC vice-chairman and managing director Deepak Kapoor said the company would float tenders on Friday to appoint a consultant to expedite the project. The consultant appointment is the next stated step before the works move further into the implementation process.
The upgrade follows a fatal incident that placed the operational conditions and safety arrangements at the Baramati airstrip under public attention. While the state has now sanctioned the first phase, details on the tender schedule, construction start date and the timeline for the remaining proposed improvements have not been provided in the supplied report. The immediate milestone is the tender process for appointing the project consultant.
