Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Flying free of potholes

Mumbai: After a long wait of over a year the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has finally given in principal approval to the state government’s amphibian plane project at Juhu airport. The final approval letter from the MoD is expected to arrive within a month.
This is in contrast to the apprehensions that Girgaum Chowpaty in south Mumbai, which will be one of its landing and takeoff points, is close to the western command base of Indian Navy in Colaba.
Even industrialist Mukesh Ambani was not allowed to operate his personal business jet from Antilla because of proximity to the naval base. Asked to comment, an MoD spokesperson said he will get back in a day.
A senior MTDC official confirmed that in-principle approval for the project has come. “We hope to kick-start the project within a couple of months,” the official said. The project initiated by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) will be run by a Mumbai based aviation company MEHAIR Pvt Ltd.
07/08/13 Prashant Chaugule/Daily News & Analysis
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