Navi Mumbai airport to start operations in three years

Civil Aviation Secretary, R N Choubey, has stated that the Navi Mumbai International Airport is likely to start operations by September 2021

“The state government and the concessionaire are optimistic that they will be in a position to start the first flight possibly in three years time from now,” Choubey said.

This statement was made after a thorough review of the progress of the greenfield project at a high-level meeting in Mumbai.

Both the state government and the concessionaire are hopeful of starting flight operations in three years.

The Government is trying to speeden the process.

“We are trying to, off course, even compress it even further to see the first flight earlier because not all facilities need to be build to initiate the flights. But that’s probably the timeline and it’s going at very good speed,” he added.

He also said there has been good cooperation between the concessionaire, the project-affected persons and the state government in executing the airport project.

The Navi Mumbai airport project is being carried out under the public-private-partnership model and Cidco has been mandated to execute the project. GVK group is developing the project.

The group through its subsidiary, Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), holds 74 per cent stake in Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIAL), while Cidco holds 26 per cent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the airport in February 2018.

The Navi Mumbai airport will provide relief to the single-runway and slot-constrained Chattrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai.

GVK has already achieved financial closure for the Navi Mumbai airport in July 2018.

It has also invited bids for engineering, construction at the Navi Mumbai airport.

The phase I construction is expected to cost 50% more.