Published On : Thu, Jul 7th, 2016

Aircraft can make emergency landing on Nagpur-Mumbai Eway!

Advertisement
Aircraft

File Pic: The jet fighter landed on an expressway near Delhi, May 2015

Nagpur/Mumbai: Don’t be surprised. as this is what Maharashtra government is specifically planning for, in its ambitious six-lane Nagpur-Mumbai express way. Sources from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) informed that express way between Nagpur and Mumbai will have three dedicated stretches where an aircraft can make emergency landing. This would help a great deal during rescue operations or any other calamity including a major accident.

MSRDC has even directed its consultants to explore the possible sections where such runways can be constructed. A normal runway is at least 5 km long, and there can be no obstructions (electricity or mobile towers) in its vicinity.

The 710-km Mumbai-Nagpur expressway is being built at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore. “We are preparing a detailed project report whose terms of reference include identification of five potential runway spots. The plan is to develop three of them,” said Radheshyam Mopalwar, MSRDC’s vice-chairman and managing director.

The expressway will cut the travel time between the two cities from 16 hours to just six, and government officials hope the project will also unlock the industrial-development potential of drought-hit Marathwada and Vidarbha.

The Uttar Pradesh government has created such emergency runways on the six-lane Yamuna Expressway between Lucknow and Agra. In May last year, the Air Force landed a Dassault Mirage 2000 on the expressway near Mathura, a first in the Indian aviation’s history.

Germany, South Korea, Finland, Switzerland and Singapore have dedicated highway stretches where aircraft can land during emergencies.

Latest Comment
During the ‘Make in India Week’ in Mumbai, a number of companies had said they would set up industries in the two regions if the road connectivity with Mumbai was improved. The regions attracted nearly 20 per cent of the Rs 8-lakh crore investment commitments for the state.