It was in the year 2007 when the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) proposed to construct a second airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) with an aim to reduce the increasing burden on the existing international airport in Mumbai.
The planning agency also finalized an area of 1160 Ha in Navi Mumbai for the Greenfield project. After facing lot of hurdles regarding land acquisition, environmental clearances and public outcry, the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is getting shape, slowly and steadily. CIDCO has posted on its social media page that the project is 63% complete and will be operational by March 31, 2025.
CIDCO Completes Pre-Development Works, Hands Over Area to Private Concessionaire
According to CIDCO, which has 24% stake in NMIA, the project is nearing completion. “CIDCO has completed all pre-development works comprising land development up to 5.5m above mean sea level, diversion of Ulwe river (Ulwe Recourse Channel) and re-routing of Extra High Voltage Transmission (EHVT) Lines of MSETCL and Tata Power through underground ducting. It has now handed over the area to the private concessionaire which is constructing the airport,” a senior CIDCO official said not wishing to be named.
Southern Runway, Terminal 1 & Key Facilities Nearing Completion
Stating that the project has achieved 63% overall physical progress as of now, the official said, “In the current phase, the Southern runway along with Terminal 1 (out of the 4 planned terminals), cargo terminal, General Aviation and all other ancillary structures are under construction. The 3.7-km-long runway and dual parallel taxiways as well as the Terminal Building (T1) and all other structures are also in advanced stage of completion.”
“The NMIA Project (Phase 1 & 2 combined) with an overall capacity of 20 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and 0.8 Million tonnes of cargo capacity per annum, is expected to be ready for commercial operations by March 31, 2025,” the CIDCO official emphasised.
Minister Scindia Reviews Project, Confident Of Meeting 2025 Deadline
During his visit to the project site in January, 2024, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that we have achieved the physical and financial progress of 55-60% for the project. “While the first and the second phase of the mega airport will have one runway, one terminal building and a passenger capacity of 2 crore, the second runway, four terminals along with an increased passenger capacity of 9 crore will be the part of phases 3, 4 and 5,” Scindia had said adding that the Greenfield airport will be constructed at a cost of Rs 18,000 Crore.
When contacted, the spokesperson from Navi Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (NMIAL), which is constructing the airport, asserted that the work was in full swing and they were confident of achieving the March, 2025 deadline.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport Project
To meet the anticipated MMR air travel demand of 100 MPPA by 2030, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) granted approval to the project in July, 2007, for developing a greenfield international airport at Navi Mumbai through PPP. The Government of Maharashtra granted approval in July, 2008 and appointed CIDCO as the nodal agency for the project implementation.
Through an international bid process, CIDCO selected Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), operator of Mumbai airport, as the preferred bidder for award of the concession for NMIA. The State Cabinet approved the award of the concession to MIAL in October 2017. The Concession Agreement was executed with Concessionaire, NMIAL in January 2018 with MIAL holding 74% of the equity in Concessionaire and CIDCO holding 26% of equity.
NMIA's Economic Impact & Job Creation Potential
NMIA, one of the largest greenfield international airports under development in the country, is planned to handle 90 million passengers (90 MPPA) and 2.5 million tonnes of cargo annually. The second international airport in MMR is planned as a major gateway to the country and will operate as part of an urban dual airport system along with the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai.
The airport is expected to be a major economic trigger for the region, along with the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) expansion. The airport is expected to create approximately 1 lakh direct and indirect employment in the surrounding region.
