Pune: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said once completed, the airport in Purandar taluka would be India’s second biggest and the world’s 19th in terms of area. He appealed to those residing around the project site not to sell off their properties, as the airport will transform the entire region.Ajit Pawar kicked off the campaign for the alliance of two NCP factions for the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections in Kanheri village in Baramati, where he listed the projects being implemented in Pune district.About the proposed international airport that would be named after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the NCP chief said, “The new international airport in Purandar will be spread over 3,200 acres with two runways. It will also have cargo facilities, and bigger aircraft will be operating from this facility. Once completed, the airport would be the second biggest in the country after Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. Internationally, it will be the 19th biggest airport.”The land acquisition for the airport is currently going on. “Around 94% of the land owners have given their consent. Once the airport is established, it will transform the area completely. Therefore, I appeal to the local people staying around the proposed site not to sell off their properties, as these will witness huge appreciation in the near future,” the Pune guardian minister said.The deputy CM also referred to the recently concluded international cycle race in the district. “For the cycle race, we managed to reconstruct 450km roads across various tehsils, including Maval, Mulshi, Baramati, Purandar, Rajgad, Bhor, and the city area of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. These roads are of good quality and will last for five to 10 years. It will help in smoother traffic movement,” he said.
