Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the state government has set a September 30 deadline to inaugurate the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).
“Today we have set the target as we have to seek an appointment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have set a target of September 30. This is an ambitious one but we have told officials of Adani, Navi Mumbai airport authority and CIDCO that you double or triple the 13,000 workers currently working here,” Fadnavis said. He was speaking to reporters after inspecting the ongoing construction work of NMIA along with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.
The CM said all the licenses for the airport are in place. “Because for commercial operations, you need certain licenses after completion of work. We have told them to initiate that simultaneously. So that we can inaugurate this around September 30, as per the convenience of the PM,” he said.
Fadnavis said the PM laid the foundation stone of the airport and he will inaugurate it. “In two and a half years (of MVA rule) all infrastructure projects were delayed. But we returned to power and put them on fast track. However, the cascading effect of that (MVA rule) is on all infrastructure projects. We wanted to complete the work by April and initiate flight operations by August. Which is not possible now. However, the ongoing progress is satisfactory. We are hopeful that the September 30 deadline will be met,” Fadnavis said.
Earlier, Fadnavis said the physical work of the airport is 94 per cent complete, with runaway and terminal building work over. Work on the interiors is underway while an efficient system for baggage counters has been set up. “This will be bigger than the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport with two runways,” he said, adding that it will be a green airport. All airport vehicles will be EV or alternate fuel driven.
Fadnavis said the airport will have good connectivity. “A coastal road from Atal Setu is under progress which will be completed by March 2026. Shinde has suggested an elevated road from Thane. In addition all modes of transport such as suburban rail, metro and water transport will be developed for the ease of passengers,” he said. “In the second phase, an underground metro will connect all the terminals,” he added.
