Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has planned to develop two helipads at the central business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The facilities will be utilised for air ambulance services besides giving landing space to high-flying C-Suite executives. Once developed, the helipads will fetch the MMRDA crores of rupees in revenue.
Project's planning is in the final stages
The project's planning is in the final stages and soon applications will be invited from the private players having expertise in operation and maintenance of helicopters. According to an MMRDA official, four land parcels will be reserved at the BKC; two plots will be for a playground, while a recreation centre will come up on the other. One of the helipads will come on the recreation centre's roof and the other will be set up on the open land parcel.
This isn’t the first time when the agency is toying with the idea of having helipads. About 13 years ago, it had planned heliports at Bandra, Backbay Reclamation, Nariman Point and Nerul. After multiple consultations and discussions, all the four locations were striked off the proposal.
Earlier plans to develop air taxi services were kept aside due to security concerns
Though Mumbai has a few helipads in the city's southern part, they aren't used regularly. Only the ones at Juhu Aerodrome and Mahalakshmi Race Course are used on a regular basis. The earlier plans to develop air taxi services in Mumbai had to be kept aside due to certain security-related concerns raised by the Ministry of Defence.
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