Mumbai airports likely to be renamed after Shivaji, JRD

MUMBAI, May 20: Sahar and Santacruz airports are likely to be rechristened soon. Union Civil Aviation Minister Anant Kumar announced today t...

MUMBAI, May 20: Sahar and Santacruz airports are likely to be rechristened soon. Union Civil Aviation Minister Anant Kumar announced today that the names of JRD Tata and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is being considered for the international and domestic airports, adding that no final decision has been taken yet.

The union minister accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde was addressing the employees of Indian Airlines. “The christening of the terminals is necessary since Mumbai is the commercial capital of the country,” Kumar said giving examples of various important airports in the country like Delhi, Madras and Calcutta which have been named after great personalities like Indira Gandhi, Anna Dorai and Subhashchandra Bose.

The Union minister has decided to launch an extension infrastructure development project at the international and domestic airport terminals at the cost of Rs 200 crore. Kumar said the pending proposal of the third terminal at Sahar will be cleared soon. He said the newterminal will have three storeys and state-of-the-art facilities with eight aerobridges to be constructed at the cost of Rs 150 crore. The bridges will be commissioned by the middle of 1999. He said the domestic terminal will have two additional buildings and three more aerobridges.

Kumar said an advanced technical project for air traffic control between Mumbai and Delhi will also be undertaken at a cost of Rs 424 crore. While the Delhi section is ready for commissioning, Mumbai one will soon take off by the yearend. At present, Mumbai terminals handle around 15 arrivals and departures per minute. But, with the new project in operation, around 45 arrivals and departures can be handled.