New Airport In Navi Mumbai On Track To Be Operational By 2024

Navi Mumbai is set to get an international airport, which is being built with an eye on the high air traffic demand. The new airport will be located in the center of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) at Ulwe in Navi Mumbai.

The airport will be built and managed by Adani Airports, one of India's largest airport operators. To be constructed in four phases, the plan is to make the airport one of the most energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable in the world.

All vehicles that will be used at the station will be electric, and charging stations will be installed across the airport. It will also extensively use green electricity, a large part of which shall be solar power generated on the site, the group managing the project said in a statement.

The terminal's design is inspired by the lotus, India's national flower.

The first two phases will be completed by December 2024. The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will be built over an area of 1160 hectares.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde yesterday reviewed the work going on the site along with his deputy Devendra Fadnavis.

After an aerial inspection of the site, the two leaders were given a detailed presentation by the Adani Group's representatives on the features of the airport.

The Chief Minister said that the new airport will be an important one not just for Maharashtra, but also for the country. He added that it will reduce the burden on the Mumbai airport.

Detailing the challenges faced in the project, the project team said that they still have to tackle tall hills, and rocks and also change the course of the Ulwe river.

"Challenges were galore in the 1160-hectare land meant for the project. Especially, in the southern part which was shortlisted there was a 2 km long, 100-meter-tall hill with 55 million cubic meters of rock in it," says Charudatta Deshmukh, Joint President - Planning and Design of NMIA Project.

"The Ulwe river had its 40-meter-wide course cutting across the site. The river was recoursed and the current river course is 200 meters wide and it doesn't impact the site," he added.

The distance between the new Navi Mumbai airport and the Mumbai airport will be less than 40 km.

The airport would be connected to the 22-km Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL), which will serve as the main road connector between the airport and the metropolis.