Nagpur: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Monday that authorities would be suspended if the Nagpur airport runway recarpeting work is not completed in a month. The last runway recarpeting was done in 2013-14 through the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Gadkari inspected the Nagpur airport runway on Monday morning.
Mihan India Limited (MIL) operates the Nagpur airport with AAI. MIL said the AAI has informed that the project is expected to be completed by May 2025 provided that the runway is available for 8 hours on a daily basis. Gadkari, who represents Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency, said that people suffer because of rescheduling of flights and inflated prices of tickets.
The airstrip work is done by MIHAN management. AAI allotted the tender for the recarpeting work to M/S KG Gupta in May 2024, Gadkari told reporters after inspecting the airstrip. Gadkari said the re-carpeting work got delayed due to negligence by the contractor and AAI. He said an affidavit was filed in court about the work delay due to the poll code. However, the work should have been adjusted considering the schedule of (Maharashtra assembly) elections.
Gadkari said he had appointed a committee to ensure the swift completion of recarpeting work. The Union minister further said he has warned of suspending concerned authorities and also the termination of the work (contract) if the work is not completed in one month.
The MIL said in a statement that AAI issued a work order in March 2024 to M/S K G Gupta after a delay of five months. The work duration as per the AAI's tender document is 12 months, it said.
The AAI started the recarpeting work in October 2024. However, the work had to be suspended from October 9 to November 23 due to the model code for the Maharashtra assembly elections.
