Pune needs new airport to sustain growth: Governor K Sankaranarayanan

Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Sunday stressed on the need for Pune to have an international airport. “An international airport is needed to keep up the pace of economic growth that the city has been witnessing in the last few years. The citizens have waited for too long to enjoy the privileges of an international airport,” he said.

The governor was speaking as chief guest at the award of excellence ceremony organised by the Top Management Consortium (TMC) at a city hotel.

According to him, Pune is a world-class city and its people deserve nothing less than world-class infrastructure. And the city needs a world-class international airport on a priority basis.

“Pune is growing horizontally and vertically. It will bring with it a whole lot of problems of infrastructure, road development, supply of potable water, sanitation and traffic congestion, which can acquire serious proportions unless timely measures are taken to address them,” the governor noted.

Sankaranarayanan, who is also chancellor of the universities in the state, stressed on the need to establish a vocational training university. Such a university, he said, can create a large pool of skilled workforce to meet the needs of the industry.

“I want the TMC to support establishment of such a university. I feel that the University of Pune needs to market itself to attract more students and researchers. I wish and appeal for collective efforts to make this a reality,” he said.