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Three interior cities of Maharashtra including Shirdi, Jalgaon and Solapur will soon have their own airports to boast of. The temple town of Shirdi and the abode of Sai Baba will get a brand new airport, while the towns of Jalgaon and Solapur will get the existing airstrips upgraded to full-fledged airports. The airports will be made ion partnership between the state’s nodal aviation agency, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) and private investors.
The Shirdi airport is likely to be the busiest airport with the huge influx of religious devotees into the city. The airports at Shirdi and Solapur will cost about Rs 263 crore and the Jalgaon airport will cost about Rs 309 crore. The Airports Authority of India will also hold a 13 percent stake in each project.
According to a state official, the Jalgaon and Solapur airports are likely to get functional in two years and for the Shirdi airport, land acquisition has already begun and Cabinet clearance is now required. The airports development plans were discussed at an MADC meeting in the presence of chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Friday.
