Navi Mumbai, July 12 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday that works on the Navi Mumbai International Airport must be completed by September 30.

“The government has asked to double or triple the number of workers for its completion,” said the Chief Minister, who, along with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, visited the airport site and reviewed its progress.

He told reporters that the physical progress of the airport is 94 per cent. “The work of the terminal building is done. The interior work is going on. The work on the exterior ceiling is going on at a fast pace. We saw the baggage handling system. The barcode of the bag can be seen from 360 degrees. Efforts are being made to make the baggage claim system at this airport the fastest system in the world. The airport will be equipped with two runways with a handling capacity of nine crore passengers. This airport will be much bigger than Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport, and it is a greenfield airport. Green electricity will be used,” he added.

He said that an underground metro to the airport will be built, and all of them will be connected to the airport.

“There will be no need to walk. Also, there will be no need to bring a vehicle,” he claimed.

Sources said that the Navi Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (NMIAL) is a special purpose vehicle established for the design, development, construction, operation, maintenance, management and expansion of the greenfield international airport project at Navi Mumbai.

It is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between Mumbai International Airport Ltd, holding 74 per cent stake, and CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd.) holding 26 per cent.

The airport is expected to cater to the burgeoning air traffic demands of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Western India, while strengthening India’s global connectivity.

The airport will be 14 km from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) Sea Port, 22 km from Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Taloja Industrial area, 35 km from Mumbai Port Trust (via Mumbai Trans Harbour Link), 32 kms from Thane and 40 kms from the power loom town Bhiwandi.

The airport is designed to accommodate both domestic and international passengers, featuring state-of-the-art facilities, including a 3,700-metre runway capable of handling large commercial aircraft, modern passenger terminals and advanced air traffic control systems. Terminal 1 is projected to handle up to 2 crore passengers per annum (MPPA).

“The completion of the airport will be a vital boost to the local economy, improving accessibility and opening up new commercial opportunities for the Navi Mumbai region. The airport will ultimately have a capacity to handle 9 crore passengers per annum (MPPA), along with 0.5 million tons per annum of cargo in its initial phase,” said sources.

–IANS

sj/dan