Plans for airport at Panvel gain ground

“The government has earmarked three sites for the development of airports at Navi Mumbai, Rewas Mandwa, and Sindhudurg. But only Navi Mumbai can be effective in reducing the load at Mumbai airport. CIDCO has shared all the information onfeasibility studies at the Navi Mumbai site with the team… Everything now depends on the Ministry,” said principal secretary, Aviation, Jagdish Joshi.

According to a techno-economic feasibility study report obtained by the state government through the US-based Carter and Burgess Inc., the airport is to be developed over an area of 350 hectares near Panvel in three phases at an estimated total cost of Rs 1,715 crore.

It is estimated that even with if existing facilities are expanded at the Mumbai airport, it can handle only 19.50 million passengers per annum on an average. As per AAI’s projections, its capacity will exhaust by the year 2005. A report prepared by a task force appointed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation has recommended that the work on a new site should commence at the earliest.

The facilities to be provided at the proposed airport include airfield lighting on its 2,700 metres-long runway, taxiways, and approach path of aircraft. Apart from the latest navigational aids for precisioninstrument approaches, cargo handling facilities, maintenance hangars and other landside facilities, the airport will also be equipped with an Air Traffic Control tower, fire fighting system, utility servces, surface drainage system and aviation fuel depots.

The ATC is to be integrated with the existing system at Mumbai to avoid clashes with simultaenous flight operations.

Under the proposed public-private partnership, CIDCO will form a joint venture company with a successful bidder to prepare the design, obtain approvals, raise finance, and execute and operate the project for 30 years. The state government’s investment is pegged at 26 per cent.

CIDCO has already obtained go-aheads from the state’s Department of Revenue and Forests, the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board and Ministry of Defence. The approvals of the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Union Ministry of Environment and Forests are being awaited.

However, in anticipation of the approvals, CIDCO has alreadypre-qualified a consortia led by four companies, including Reliance, Ispat, Boss Tech and a German firm, to carry out the work. In fact, chief minister Manohar Joshi has even consented to the proposed airport to be subsequently upgraded on to an international status by extending the runway length to 3,700 metres to handle wide-bodied aircraft.

The site is already in CIDCO’s possession and, unlike the other proposed site at Rewas Mandwa and Sindhudurg, has, till date, not encountered hurdles like rehabilitation and resettlement of locals. It is also well connected to Mumbai as well as other centres of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) by a road network including National Highways No. 4 and 17 and the suburban railway’s Harbour line between Mumbai CST and Panvel. The completion of the Mumbai-Pune expressway and the Trans-Harbour link in the future will provide easier access to the airport even from other regions in the state.

The MMR is spread over an area of 4,355 sq kms covering major growth centreslike Greater Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Vasai-Virar and Kalyan. The population, 130 lakh at present, is expected to grow beyond 200 lakh by the year 2010.