TBM Staff - Mumbai Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, revealed that the commercial operations of the ambitious Rs 18,000-crore Navi Mumbai International Airport are anticipated to commence by March 31, 2025.
Providing insights into the phased development plan during his inspection visit to Navi Mumbai, Scindia disclosed that the initial phases (1 and 2) will witness the creation of one runway, one terminal, and a passenger capacity of two crore. Subsequent phases (3, 4, and 5) will incorporate the addition of a second runway, four terminals, and an increased passenger capacity of nine crore.
The minister emphasized the comprehensive connectivity the airport is set to offer, with road, rail, and metro linkages. The airport will be connected to NH 4B (348), the Sion Panvel Highway, and Atal Setu (new sea link). Railway connectivity will be facilitated through the Targhar Railway station, while metro links include Metro line 2D, Metro line 8, and the Navi Mumbai Pendhar Belapur Taloja metro line. Future plans include hovercraft connectivity from Colaba and cargo connectivity from Raigad in Phase 2.
Scindia highlighted that the airport, spanning 1,600 hectares, is designed to be the country’s first with automated passenger movement, fostering seamless travel within the airport premises both on the city side and the airside.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport, committed to environmental sustainability, is being developed as a hundred percent green airport in its initial phase. The project aims to alleviate congestion at the Mumbai International Airport and is expected to significantly boost air traffic. Scindia underscored the government’s ambitious goal to double domestic passenger traffic from the current 15 crores to 30 crores by 2030, emphasizing the plan to establish over 200 airports across the country in the next six years. The overall physical and financial progress of the project has reached 55-60 percent completion.
