Even as the people are speculating and debating over the completion of the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), the Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), has started preparing the proposal for getting environmental clearance for 90 million passengers per annum (mppa) capacity. While the company has already received the clearance for 60 mppa capacity in 2021, it is now seeking clearance for the increased capacity.
“Environmental consultants, EQMS India Pvt Ltd, has been entrusted with the job of preparing a proposal to apply for 90 mppa environmental clearance and is likely to submit the same with the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) within next 2-3 months. Since NMIAL has been claiming that they have designed the airport for 90 mppa capacity, they will have to seek environmental clearance for the same,” sources in the NMIAL said.
CIDCO, major stakeholder in project along with Adani Group
Stating that the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which is one of the major stakeholders in the project along with Adani Group, has not yet given its approval for applying for the environmental clearance for the increased capacity, sources said that going by the concession agreement signed between CIDCO and the private player, NMIAL can prepare the proposal and submit the same with the ministry for seeking environmental clearance.
“It is permissible since CIDCO has transferred the environmental clearance for 60 mppa capacity to the NMIAL and the latter is eligible to apply and seek clearance for the increased capacity,” sources added.
Confusion about completion dates of project
While the state government had been maintaining that NMIA will be completed by December 31, 2024, the union civil aviation ministry had said that the project will only be completed by March 31, 2025. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had informed the state assembly in July, 2023 that the NMIA will be operational by December 31, 2024, however, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, after reviewing the project on January 13, 2024, said that the project will not be operational before March 31, 2025.
The Greenfield airport to be constructed at a cost of Rs 18,000 Crore, will be implemented in five phases, Scindia said after visiting NMIA project site. “We have achieved the physical and financial progress of 55-60% for the project. The project began in 2018 and commercial operationalization is expected to start by March 31, 2025. 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 said.
CAPA, the aviation consultancy firm, had said in its report that NMIA’s construction is facing delays, and is likely to commence commercial operations in 2025 instead of 2024. Replying to this, AAHL had maintained that the project is being executed as per scheduled implementation plan and will be operational by December 31, 2024.
The start of operations of the NMIA is eagerly awaited by one and all. The second airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is expected to significantly decongest Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), also managed by AAHL. The total investment of the NMIA project has been pegged at Rs 20,853 crore. The airport was first proposed back in 1999 and would be built in over 1,160 Ha of land in its entirety, aims to handle up to 9 crore passengers and 25 lakh tonnes of cargo per year.
