THE ambitious MIHAN project got a shot in the arm on Thursday with cargo major Deccan Cargo Private Limited signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) Ltd. for setting up their cargo operations from Nagpur.
Captain Gopinath signed the MoU on behalf of Deccan Cargo while Vice Chairman & Managing Director of MADC R C Sinha signed it on behalf of the developing agency in the presence of dignitaries including Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Chairman of MADC Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Sources Vilas Muttemwar. Maharashtra Dairy Development and Fisheries Minister Anees Ahmed, PWD Minister Anil Deshmukh, legislators Baba Mulak and Ramesh Bang and a host of officials from MADC including Ramesh Yaul, General Manager, S V Chahande, Chief Engineer, were prominently present at the function. Speaking on the occasion, Captain Gopinath said that the upcoming cargo hub will change the economic scenario of Nagpur and Vidarbha. Highlighting on the importance of logistics in India, Capt. Gopinath said that today, manufacturers in smaller cities and towns, farmers and fisherman in villages are not able to get their produce to reach the consumption markets on time and in good shape. They face several issues due to transportation delays, cumbersome paperwork, annoying middlemen, unreliable weather conditions and most of all lack of connectivity, said Gopinath. He stressed on creation of transportation network to connect these smaller cities, towns and villages. The Nagpur Airport, with its infrastructure availability, will handle majority of the cargo moving on the Deccan cargo network, thereby controlling the distribution of shipments across the country, said Gopinath. Earlier, making his introductory remarks, R C Sinha said that MADC will make Nagpur airport as the best non-metro airport in the country. He urged Praful Patel to speedily hand over the airport to the company. Sinha informed that the Central Facility Building at MIHAN is nearing completion and will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister during the winter session of the Assembly. In his speech, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Sources Vilas Muttemwar credited Praful Patel and Capt. Gopinath for changing the aviation scenario of India. He said that the long pending MoU between MADC and Airport Authority of India (AAI) will be inked by the end of this month. The draft MoU with Defence Ministry for Gajraj land is also ready and will be signed shortly, he said. Muttemwar said that with the signing of this MoU, all speculations and doubts about the success of MIHAN is over. “It will pave the way for more investments in Nagpur,” affirmed Muttemwar. He also thanked Deshmukh for his unstinted support to the MIHAN project. Praful Patel termed the moment as a historic one. “MIHAN is finally on runway to take off,” said Patel. It has been a long haul to come here. In the years to come, people will witness one of the finest facilities anywhere in the world at Nagpur, said Patel. He declared that MIHAN will have a great future and assured the gathering that all issues concerning the airport transfer would be sorted out soon. The NCP leader from Gondia reiterated his commitment to the development of Vidarbha ‘being a native of this region’. “Thankfully, politics has not overtaken development and today everybody is on the same platform,” he said referring to the presence of his bete noire Muttemwar with whom he had a public spat. Patel informed that the Air India Cargo Division will start its operations by the end of this year from Nagpur. Deshmukh congratulated all concerned and expressed satisfaction over the progress of MIHAN which he termed as his ‘dream project’.

Despite allegedly low award for land acquisition announced by Maharashtra Government, people having agricultural land at Shivangaon have started accepting it. In the last ten days since the announcement of the award, awards worth Rs 11.5 crore have been distributed and the Government has acquired 51 hectares of agricultural land there.

Notably, on March 2, Maharashtra Government announced the award of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh per hectare with an additional component of 66 per cent for agricultural land. If a project affected person (PAP) of Multimodal International Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) has one hectare of land and if it comes in the category of Rs 10 lakh/hectare, he would get Rs 10 lakh plus an additional component of Rs 6.6 lakh, said sources in the administration. At this rate, barring the gaothan of Shivangaon, total 272 hectares of agricultural land is to be acquired. For the purpose, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has reportedly made available Rs 75 crore out of total estimated award of Rs 76.32 crore to Land Acquisition Office. The said office has started distribution of land acquisition award from March 3. Notably, till March 13, an award of total Rs 11.5 crore has been distributed for 51 hectares of land, said the sources. As per the criteria fixed for award distribution, if a PAP is having agricultural land, he would get the award as mentioned above. However, if his land is converted into non-agricultural one, he would get award at the rate of Rs 520/- per square meter, that is, just above Rs 21 lakh per acre. It may be recalled here that there was resentment among Shivangaon PAPs over the award, which was awaited since last two years. They felt that Maharashtra Government had rejected recommendation of its own committee to give compensation of Rs 30 lakh per acre. Notably, more 94 hectares of land of Shivangaon gaothan and more than 150 hectares of land at Chinchbhuvan is yet to be acquired. The award for the
same is expected soon.

‘FIRST CITY’, the most ambitious residential project in Multi Modal International Cargo and Passenger Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) has received a major jolt. It has come from none other than its developer Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC).

MADC has decided to reduce the number of floors in all the 12 buildings being built at First City. Now, they will have 13 floors instead of the original 18. It will lead to a loss of around 600 units (houses) which may make the project financially unviable for the developers, said market sources. The project is being co-developed by Reatox Developer. The project is coming up in the non-processing part of Special Economic zone of.MIHAN. Talking to The Hitavada, Atul Shirodkar from Reatox Developer confirmed that MADC had decided to reduce the number of floors owing to objections from Airports Authority of India (AAI). AAI didn’t want such tall buildings so close to the proposed new runway of MIHAN. Shirodkar appeared sanguine about the change though. “MADC will compensate the loss by giving additional land equivalent to the space lost because of the reduction in the number of floors,” he said. Shirodkar said that the construction work was going on in full swing and project would be completed on time. General Manager of AAI (Western region) G P Hela had recently written to MADC and said that the 18 floor towers could not come up near the approach funnel of the proposed parallel runway. The AAI and MADC had locked horns over the issue and both the organisation had charged each other with providing misleading information and of gross igno- rance about ground realities of MIHAN and SEZ. Initially the MADC demanded action against the AAI General Manager for allegedly leaking the news to media and also charged him with deliberately creating a controversy raising question-mark over intention of the MADC. But finding no positive response from the Union Civil Aviation Ministry which controls the AAI, the MADC prefered climbing down from its aggressive stance. Sources had informed that MADC wanted a quick solution of the matter hence it decided to reduce the number of floors in the buildings. Harshwardhan Gajbhiye, Vice-Chairman of MADC, said he was not aware of any such development. He, however, said MADC was the developer itself and would not give additional land to Reatox to compensate for any loss. However, MADC was concerned about the viability of the project and an appropriate decision in the matter will be taken.

THURSDAY’S Union Cabinet approval of transfer of Dr Ambedkar International Airport to a Joint Venture Company comprising Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) would provide a much needed thrust for the development of Multi Modal International and Passenger Cargo Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN).

Development of Dr Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur, to a world Class Multi Modal International Passenger and Cargo Hub is expected to help in improving tourism and international trade in the region as well as enable optimum utilization of the airport. Development of MIHAN will also fulfill the long cherished demand of the public of the Vidarbha region. With this objective, Government of Maharashtra (GoM) had proposed to develop a world class Multi Modal International Passenger and Cargo Hub airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) integrated with the existing Nagpur airport. A high level Steering Committee was constituted for this project wherein the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) were also represented. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the nodal agency for the project, got a Techno-Economic Feasibility Study (TEFS) conducted for this project through a consortium of Consultants led by M/s. L&T Ramboll Consulting Engineers Ltd., Chennai under the guidance of the Steering Committee. The consultants opined that Nagpur has a very good potential for becoming an international hub airport. Detailed study of traffic data and statistics carried out for air traffic and road and railway etc. suggest that Nagpur could be developed to handle passenger traffic of 18.9 m.p.a in 2035 as against 0.2 m.p.a in 2000. Similarly, air cargo traffic forecasts suggest that as against 910 MTs cargo traffic in 2000, the total cargo traffic in 2035 could be to the order of 11,690,700 MTs. Based on these projections, the TEFS suggested a Master Plan for development of MIHAN at a total capital cost of Rs 2,581/- crores till year 2035. As against the same corresponding revenue is estimated to be Rs 5,280/- crores. Based on these inputs, the project IRR for 30 years of operations has been determined to be 14%. The project envisages expansion of the existing airport and development of new facilities in and around the same for the multi-modal transfer of passengers and cargo. Consultants have suggested formation of a special purpose vehicle with the participation of State Government and other agencies for implementation of this project. Some of the other salient features of the project as envisaged by the Consultants can be summarized as under. n The airport will be backed up by many economic value addition activities and all of them including the airport will be covered by a Special Economic Zone spread over 2453 Ha of land. n Some of the value addition activities include: Inland Container Terminal, Truck Terminal, Financial Institutions within an international environment, repackaging and similar activities, Convention and Exhibition Centres, etc. n The total project cost is Rs. 2,581 crores over 30 years. n The total investment required in various facilities in the MIHAN Project by other agencies is approximately Rs. 2,600 crores. n The Net Economic Value added to the region till 2035 would be Rs 522 billion apart from the creation of lakhs of jobs. n The Project is well viable with an IRR of 14.2% with the current share of airport taxes. n Boeing Company has announced its decision to establish a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for Boeing aircraft’s at Nagpur airport with an initial investment of about US$ 100 million for which the site has also been identified within the existing airport. About 75 acres of land has already been allotted to Boeing for the MRO project. International airlines have been encouraged to operate from Nagpur and at present five international flights per week are operating from this airport. Indian Air Force has 278 hectares of AAI’s land in its possession, which they wish to shift to a new site conditional upon the creation of infrastructure and a new runway. They have also requested for 400 hectares in lieu of 278 hectares for their Gajraj project, which MADC has ‘in principle’ agreed to provide. The Government of Maharashtra had formed Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) for implementing MIHAN project as well as other airport projects in the State. GoM had also requested MoCA to hand over Nagpur airport to MADC for the development of MIHAN. The request of GoM to hand over Nagpur airport for development of MIHAN was examined. It was observed that n Nagpur being geographically centrally located and as such is best suited for development of hub airport. Its location on the international flying routes is also conducive to such development. n Vidarbha is a backward region. Government of India and GoM has been taking various steps for encouraging industrial and infrastructural development in this region. Development of MIHAN at Nagpur is expected to impart a greater thrust in achieving this socio-economic objective of the two Governments. n AAI has been maintaining and operating Nagpur airport. Despite various efforts to upgrade infrastructure at the airport, it has not been possible to develop the same as a hub airport on a stand alone basis. The proposal made to develop the cargo hub alongwith the Special Economic Zone and other related infrastructure may turn around this airport. n Nagpur Airport is a consistently loss making airport. In 2003 it incurred a loss of Rs 1524.00 lakhs, in 2004-05 it incurred a loss of Rs 2918.72 lakhs, in 2005-06, Rs 2439.53 lakhs loss and 2006-07 the loss amounted to Rs 1545.27 lakhs. Since with comprehensive development, the composite project is likely to generate an IRR of 14%. The proposal is also economically justified. Thus the Government decided to transfer Nagpur Airport to the JVC comprising of MADC and AAI with equity participation of 51% and 49% respectively. It was agreed that the JVC will have subscribed capital of Rs. 10 crores of which AAI’s subscription will be Rs 4.90 crores. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was accordingly signed on 18.12.2006 between MoCA/AAI and GoM/MADC. The MoU, inter-alia, proposes to transfer the Nagpur airport along with all its lands and other assets to the JVC within a period of 180 days. A Steering Committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, GoM with the representation of Government of India, GoM, AAI and MADC. It was also contemplated that for implementation of MIHAN project to world-class standards, the JVC may involve a strategic partner on BOT basis. At the stage of handing over of the project to the strategic partner, the investments made and the assets created by AAI at Nagpur airport shall be duly accounted for. The benefits of project development of Dr Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur to a world class Multi Modal International Passenger and Cargo Hub is expected to help in improving tourism and international trade in the region as well as enable optimum utilization of the airport. Development of MIHAN will also fulfill the long cherished demand of the public of the Vidarbha region, it was observed. Following the Government’s approval on Thursday, Dr Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur, will be handed over to the Joint Venture Company comprising of Airports Authority of India and Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited for upgradation of the airport to a world class Multi Modal International Passenger and Cargo Hub.

After getting conditional nod of Union Cabinet for the transfer of Nagpur Airport to Joint Venture Company (JVC) of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), the way for the transfer of Defence land to MADC is also cleared. Sources said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ministry of Defence and MADC would be signed within 15 days.

MADC is ready to give 400 hectares land to Indian Air Force for the Gajraj Project while IAF will transfer 278 hectare of land to MADC. Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar on Saturday claimed he had the assurance of Defence Minister A K Anthony on this and a MoU would be signed in the next few days. It would lay down a road map for land exchange. This proposal would also go before the Union Cabinet for final sanction. Muttemwar told reporters that MADC would not charge any money for the additional 122 hectares of land at Isasani. The land was selected by the officials of Defence Ministry. On the agitation of Shivangaon farmers, Muttemwar claimed that Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was ready to give Transferable Developmental Rights (TDR) to them which could be used in Nagpur city. This would generate ample money for the farmers. MADC was also ready to give its equity shares to them after listing on the stock exchange. The residents of Shivangaon are demanding compensation of Rs 20 lakh per acre and additional 12.5 per cent of developed land. He said that both the demands could not be fulfilled by the MADC as they had to give fund for rehabilitation and compensation. This would create a burden of Rs 500 crore on it. He said that a Committee form under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary would decide the equity of MADC and AAI in proposed JVC. MADC is holding 950 hectare land while AAI was having 350 hectares. The due diligence report of Airport land was prepared in 2003-04. Maharashtra Government is ready to give 49 per cent share to AAI while 51 per cent share will remain with MADC. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) and airport security would also remain with AAI. In due course of time, JVC will absorb all the present staff of the airport, Muttemwar said. South Nagpur MLA Dinanath Padole and former Mayor Vikas Thakre were also present.