Will The First Flight Take Off From Navi Mumbai Airport In 2020?

A cloud of dust hovers as workers control-blast the hillock to pave the way for Mumbai’s second airport. They need to flatten the ground before the construction of terminals and runways can begin. While the work is on in full swing, the project, already behind schedule, is unlikely to meet its latest deadline.The first phase of the Rs 16,240-crore project, which includes operation of cargo flights, was earlier expected to be ready by December this year. The deadline was further extended to mid-2020. But as of now, it’s only a possibility, according to Rajendra Dhayatkar, chief engineer at Navi Mumbai International Airport. “We have completed 87 percent of the pre-development work and our aim is to complete it by May.”“The airport will have two 3.7-km long parallel runways. The foundation work of the runway from north side has already begun and south-side work will start soon,” he said..Maharashtra’s City and Industrial Development Corporation, carrying out the pre-development work, will flatten the hill and divert the Ulwe river. It will then hand over the site to GVK Group, 74 percent owner, to build terminals, air traffic control towers and runways. But it may still take at least three years before the first flight takes off.“It will take at least till 2022 for the phase-1 of the airport to get operational due to the sheer quantum of civil work,” Mark Martin, founder and chief executive officer at Martin Consulting, said. “NMIA is a complicated infra development with challenges bound to come up from now till the first aircraft landing. The airport is coming up on a marshy land which shoots up the cost of development work by at least 30 to 50 percent.”The project is crucial to ease the burden of the existing Mumbai airport that has almost run out of room. Against a capacity of 50-52 million passengers, according to the Association of Private Airport Operators, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is estimated to have handled 48.5 million fliers in the year ended March 2018. The air passenger traffic to and from Mumbai is expected to hit 100 million by 2035, according to CIDCO. Once fully operational, the Navi Mumbai airport will have a capacity of 60 million fliers every year.Land Acquisition TroublesThe delay can also be attributed to land acquisition hurdles. According to CIDCO, 311 hectare of land was notified for the airport. This included 15.87 hectares of inhabited area. Out of the 10 villages in the area, two—Ulwe and Kombadbhuje—are yet to transfer the land for the construction of the airport.“We won’t give our lands till our demands are fulfilled. In exchange of our land, CIDCO is providing us with the plots which are not yet developed,” said advocate Prashant Bhoir, who heads Sri Nandai Mata Chargaon Punarvasan Samiti, the organisation representing four villages including those that are yet to give their consent. “Before acquiring our lands, all the basic facilities on the plot should come. We want school in every village.”“If CIDCO fulfils our demand of providing us with all the facilities which are already present in our villages, we are ready to leave,” he said.The airport authorities, however, disagree. “Relief and rehabilitation package offered by CIDCO is one of the best packages,” Dhayatkar said, adding that the project started with the consent of the affected people and is not a forceful acquisition. “We are working to fulfil the demands of these two villages and once they are fulfilled, we will acquire the land. Out of the 10 villages almost 80 percent villages have been rehabilitated.”BloombergQuint’s emailed queries to GVK on whether it would be able to complete the first phase by 2020 remained unanswered.The project also faces the problem of connectivity. But infrastructure projects like the 22-km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link and the proposed CST-Panvel elevated rail corridor are expected to cut down travel time for those reaching the new airport from the business hub of south Mumbai.Real Estate BoostThe excitement around the new international airport had given a big boost to the real estate market in Navi Mumbai. Within a few years of the announcement, several areas like Panvel, Ulwe, Dronagiri, Roadpali, Taloja, among others, became prime residential markets.But with the delay in the execution of the project and CIDCO’s inability to provide basic infrastructure, the initial excitement seems to have fizzled out. “In nodes like Ulwe, Karanjade, Roadpali, Dronagiri, although CIDCO has its own land, they could not complete the infrastructure there,” said Rajesh Prajapati, managing director at Prajapati Constructions, a Navi Mumbai-based developer. “It seems like chicken and egg situation—who should come first, residents or infra.”People will come to these nodes if there is proper infrastructure, he said, adding that in places like Ulwe, buildings are ready, but there is no water and people have to depend on tankers.“The situation can be altered by CIDCO by thinking right. We have seen the example of Kharghar where good planning gave rise to a fantastic node, whereas for Ulwe there’s a long way to go,” Prajapati said.The upcoming airport has also led to the development of commercial and residential buildings around the area. CIDCO has plans to develop 140-hectare corporate park in Kharghar—about three to four kilometers from the airport. CIDCO said it has also reserved plots around the periphery of the airport for commercial and residential development.“Once the airport gets ready, there will be 30-40 percent increase in property prices,” said Manohar Shroff, a developer based out of Navi Mumbai. “But CIDCO should focus on infrastructure development.”.Watch the full coverage here:

Will The First Flight Take Off From Navi Mumbai Airport In 2020?

The Rs 16,240-crore project is crucial to ease the burden of the existing Mumbai airport

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