CIDCO nodal agency for Navi Mumbai airport

Mumbai, Jul 9 (UNI) The Maharashtra government has appointed City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) as the nodal agency for development of an airport at Navi Mumbai, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 9,970 crore on 2,000 hectares of land, by 2012.

A decision to this effect was taken during the Cabinet meeting, chaired by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

The construction of the airport will be done on public-private partnership (PPP) basis as per the approval given by Civil Aviation Ministry.

The board of directors of CIDCO will have the special purpose vehicle rights and CIDCO would be given government land free of cost.

The government will recommend to the Centre to give concession from the Coastal Management Zone (CMZ) for the project.

The project will require Rs 4,200 crore in the first phase, Rs 1,896 crore in second, Rs 1,600 crore in third and Rs 2,272 crore in the fourth and final phase.

The budget also includes shifting of high voltage transmission line, change in the course of two rivers Ulwe and Gadhi and rehabilitation of the project-affected people. Due to the project, almost 4,000 families of seven villages will be affected .

Of the required 2,000 hectares of land, 1,150 is owned by CIDCO, 443 hectares by government and 457 hectares by private parties.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here caters to two crore passengers. After upgradation, its capacity will be augmented to four crore.

But looking at the fact that by 2030-31, nine crore people would travel by air, the airport at Navi Mumbai was proposed which will have the capacity of carrying one crore passengers initially and will reach to five crore later.

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