Nagpur: The Indian Air Force has agreed to immediately hand over 9 hectares of its land for construction of a new terminal building at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport , with the remaining 18 hectares required for the project to be made available by June 2028, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday.




The CM was speaking after his meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi to seek early handover of the remaining IAF land required for the airport’s expansion. Confirming the development to TOI, he described the meeting as positive and thanked Singh for his support.




Union minister Nitin Gadkari also joined Wednesday’s meeting online, along with senior Air Force and Maharashtra govt officials.




In a post on X, Fadnavis said necessary construction permissions would also be granted along with handover of 9 hectares required for the terminal building.




“This positive outcome will facilitate the timely completion of Phase I of the Nagpur Airport development before June 2029,” he said. As part of the arrangement, the Maharashtra govt and GMR Nagpur International Airport Ltd (GNIAL), which operates the airport, will provide connectivity to the new Air Force site and extend support to IAF’s day-to-day operations until new defence facilities are completed.




The CM had earlier said the Air Force would hand over the portion required for the terminal immediately, while the remaining land would be developed by the IAF before being transferred.




The land transfer is a key component of the planned expansion of the airport, which is expected to enable development of additional passenger-handling infrastructure and improve the airport’s capacity to accommodate future traffic.




The agreement also provides for construction-related access and permissions in areas currently used for helicopter parking and other IAF activities, facilitating movement of heavy machinery required for the project, as per the airport officials.