M'shtra CM meets Patel for Navi Mumbai airport

New Delhi, Dec 18: Maharashtra chief minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh today met minister for civil aviation Praful Patel to pave way for a new greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai.

Officials said all pending issues with the state government will be resolved in a month or two and the civil aviation ministry will then proceed for cabinet approval to build a greenfield airport in public-private partnership mode with the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra, the state government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Mr Patel said the bidding process and selection of joint venture partners will be completed by next year-end.

The air travel forecast for Mumbai metropolitan region shows demand for 20 million passengers per year in 2006-07 which is expected to be 91 million passengers per year by 2030-31.

The Mumbai airport with proposed expansion of facilities will be able to handle 40 million passengers per year due to constraints on airfield capability and non-availability of land for expansion, thereby making the airport saturated by 2013.

It is thus imperative to build a second airport, officials said.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport will be located across 1,140 hectares and accommodating two parallel and independent runways. The airfield is designed to accommodate Airbus A380 aircraft, the world's largest.

This airport is expected to absorb 10 million passengers per year in first operation year 2013, double to 20 million passengers per year by 2020 followed by 30 million passengers per year in 2025 and ultimately 40 million passengers per year by 2030.

The revised basic cost of airport project in 2006-07 is Rs 4,235 crore spread in four phases.

UNI