Kolhapur airport will be developed to accommodate large planes

The Maharashtra government has directed the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to pay Rs80 crore to acquire land for expansion and development of Kolhapur airport.

"The government has asked MIDC to pay in lump sum Rs80 crore
towards acquisition of 223 hectares of land in five villages for extension of the Kolhapur airstrip, which would accommodate Boeing aircraft by the end of 2011," Harshwardhan Patil, guardian minister for Kolhapur, told the Press Trust of India.

A meeting was held at Kolhapur earlier this month, chaired by chief minister Ashok Chavan, where the decision to sanction funds for land acquisition was taken in principle. The final decision was taken two days ago, Patil said.

The runway at Kolhapur, which is now 1,370m long, is to be extended to 3,300m, he said. The work is expected to be completed in the next year and a half after which large aircraft like the Boeings would be able to land there.

The state government has decided to make Kolhapur in western Maharashtra an information technology hub after Pune, Patil said. With the latest decision of allocating funds in one go for airport development and modernisation, industries and IT units in the region would benefit, the minister said.