No infra at Pune airport to store vaccine: Bapat

Pune: MP Girish Bapat, who heads the city airport advisory committee, has said that Airports Authority of India (AAI) will not be creating its own vaccine storage facility at the airport but private parties willing to set up such a facility can approach the AAI.

“Last week, I sent a reminder letter to senior AAI officials and the ministry of defence (MoD) requesting them to act fast and initiate the land transfer process. As far as building infrastructure to store the vaccine being developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India is concerned, the AAI will not do that. However, if any private organization wants to have a vaccine storage facility at the airport, they can approach the AAI and enter into a deal to create proper infrastructure,” Bapat told TOI.

Serum Institute of India (SII) has entered into a partnership with AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford to manufacture the Covishield vaccine.

Explaining further, Bapat said that the authorities have been trying to shift the existing cargo facility since a year. “Shifting the cargo hold area is important as the existing building near the airport arrival area has to be dismantled for the construction of the new terminal building. The new place will help many businessmen as well as the SII or they would use either the Mumbai or Hyderabad airports,” Bapat added.