Navi Mumbai International Airport to be operational from 2019

The Navi Mumbai International Airport, proposed to be built in the Kopra-Panvel Area of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), is finally set to take off. The project suffered significant delay due to a number of hurdles like environmental clearance, land acquisition issues and revenue model. And now that it has cleared all the impediments in its way, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expects the airport to be operational by 2019.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in the heart of Mumbai presently handles around 700 take offs and landings every day and by 2017 it is expected to reach saturation. Hence, the Navi Mumbai International Airport is absolutely important to ease the air traffic congestion at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. To be spread over 2,268 hectares, airport will be built through Public Private Partnership (PPP) on a 'design, build, finance, operate and transfer' basis. The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) is the nodal agency responsible for its development.

Land acquisition was one of the main issues faced by the project. Out of the total 2,268 hectares, 1,160 hectares was meant for the core airport area. But CIDCO faced problems in acquiring a particular 271 hectares owned by villagers of Pargaon as they refused to accept the compensation package given by the state government under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2014. As per the government's package, the Project Affected People (PAPs) would get 22.5% of developed land for every hectare of land acquired by the government.

Though the process of acquiring land from the PAPs took longer than expected, the issue is finally resolved and 22.5% of developed land is being handed over to them. One of the spokespersons of CIDCO said that out of the 1,194 PAPs, 1,134 have accepted the compensation and signed the documents. The pre-construction work is likely to start by the end of this month. It includes reclamation of marsh land, diversion of the Ulwe River, increasing the level of land, flattening of hills and relocation of power lines.

As the project is a Public Private Partnership, many renowned real estate development companies attended the pre-qualification discussions. GVK, Tata Realty, ESSEL Infra, IL&FS, Ferrovial, Vinci and Zurich Airports were some of them. The government wanted the private builders to offer the shortest period for recovering the cost of the project and handing it back to the government. The process was extended thrice in the past to meet the requirements of all interested parties.

But this extension of the clause proved to be good for the project as the Central Government finally approved the state's proposal to share a part of the non-aeronautical revenue with the private developer. Also, the profits from parking, shops and other sources will be shared with the developer in the long run. This issue of competitive bidding was also a major hindrance in the project's development, which has now been duly resolved.

This delay in the Navi Mumbai International Airport has also affected real estate in Navi Mumbai. The project was proposed long back in 2010 and, earlier, its completion was expected in 2016. Kharghar, Panvel and Ulwe are some of the promising localities situated around the airport area that witnessed a sharp rise in prices after the airport project was announced. But as the delays continued, the realty market suffered the repercussions. But now that the project is again on the go, industry experts expect further appreciation in property prices.

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