Airports must be seen as more than just infra entities: Uddhav

Speaking at the board meeting of Airport Development Corporation, the CM of Maharashtra said that airport development should focus on overall up-gradation of tourism facilities besides industrial and urban development around aerodromes.

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said airport development should focus on overall up-gradation of tourism facilities besides industrial and urban development around aerodromes.

Speaking at the board meeting of Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) in Vidhan Bhavan here, he said the development of airports should not be seen just through the prism of infrastructure up-gradation, but a holistic view should be taken.

The Chief Minister suggested "theme-based" development of the terminal building of the airport at Shirdi in view of the spiritual background of the temple town which is synonymous with the revered 19th-century saint Saibaba.

"Spiritual tourism has got a boost due to the development of an airport in Shirdi, where night landing of flights should be facilitated from April.

"After Shirdi, development of the airport in Nanded (an important destination for Sikh pilgrims) should also be theme-based," Thackeray said.

He called for coordination among state-run entities MTDC, MIDC, CIDCO and the urban development department for improving connectivity and ensuring industrial and all-round development of cities where airports are situated.

He called for making the new airport at Chipi in Sindhudurg district functional as soon as possible.

(PTI report)