The Maharashtra government has kicked off the process of developing the greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai through a public-private partnership. State-run City & Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has floated a global tender seeking requests for proposal for the appointment of a prime consultant to draw up a comprehensive master plan, detailed project report and other necessary documents. The Centre has already given its in-principle approval to the project, which is expected to ease overcrowding at the existing terminals. Civil aviation minister Praful Patel recently said that the proposed greenfield airport would come up by 2012 and have a capacity to handle nearly 55 million passengers, annually. It is to be located in the Copra-Panvel area, with 74 per cent equity participation by the private sector. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), the government of Maharashtra and Cidco will hold the remainder. Nearly 1,140 hectare of land is needed to accommodate the proposed two parallel runways, with provision for full-length taxiways on either side of the runways. The airport will handle the largest general commercial aircraft presently in use and will be compatible with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (Icao’s) Aerodrome Reference Code 4E. As per sources, the prime consultant will have to prepare a comprehensive master plan for the airport and surrounding areas in accordance with international standards defined by Icao and town planning norms, to meet the financial capital’s growing aviation demand. The project cost is estimated to be around Rs 3,200-4,000 crore. Besides, the prime consultant will help Cidco in the preparation of procurement and transaction documents and assist in the bidding process.
