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New Delhi: Navi Mumbai is going to get the gift of an international airport. Keeping in view the increasing demand for air traffic, a new airport is being built in Navi Mumbai. The new airport will be located in the heart of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) at Ulwe in Navi Mumbai. This airport will be built and managed by Adani Airports, one of the largest airport operators in India. To be built in four phases, this airport is planned to be the most energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable in the world.
All vehicles used at the station will be electric, and charging stations will be installed throughout the airport. It will also use a large amount of green electricity, a large part of which will be solar power generated on site, the group managing the project said in a statement. The design of the terminal is inspired by the lotus, the national flower of India. The first two phases will be completed by December 2024. Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will be built over an area of 1160 hectares.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde yesterday reviewed the ongoing work at the site with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. After an aerial survey of the site, the two leaders were given a detailed presentation about the airport’s features by representatives of the Adani Group. The Chief Minister said that the new airport would be important not only for Maharashtra but also for the country. He said that this will reduce the burden on Mumbai airport.
Detailing the challenges faced in this project, the project team said that they still have to deal with high hills and rocks and also to change the course of Ulwe river. Charudutt Deshmukh, joint chairman of planning and design of the NMIA project, said, “The challenges were immense in the 1160 hectares of land earmarked for the project. In particular, the southern part that was shortlisted had a 2 km long, 100 m high hill It contained 55 million cubic meters of rock.”
He said, “A 40-metre-wide channel of the Ulwe river was cutting through the entire site. The river was diverted and the current river channel is 200 meters wide and does not affect the site.” The distance between the new Navi Mumbai airport and Mumbai airport will be less than 40 km. The airport will be connected by the 22-km Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL), which will act as a major road link between the airport and the metropolis.
