Navi Mumbai airport glimpse of Viksit Bharat, lotus-like facility to bloom into mega hub: PM

Navi Mumbai, Oct 8 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), describing it as a "glimpse of Viksit Bharat", or developed India, that will help make the Mumbai region Asia's biggest connectivity hub.

The first phase of NMIA, also the country's largest greenfield airport, has been built at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore and is set to be operational in December Earlier, the aircraft carrying Modi landed at the new airport, the second one in the Mumbai region, at around 2.40 pm.

Spread across 1,160 hectares, the airport will have one terminal and one runway in the first phase with an annual passenger handling capacity of 20 million.

The entire project is being developed in multiple phases by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), a company in which the Adani Group has a 74 per cent stake with the remaining 26 per cent held by the Maharashtra government's town planning and development agency CIDCO.

"The long wait of Mumbai is over as the city has now got its second airport, which will also help Maharashtra's farmers get connected with supermarkets in Europe and the Middle-east," Modi said after inaugurating the aviation project which has been in the making for years and faced numerous delays.

The airport will play a significant role in making the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) Asia's biggest connectivity hub, the PM declared.

Significantly, the ground-breaking ceremony for the massive aviation project was performed by Modi in 2018.

NMIA, spread over 1,160 hectares, is set to significantly boost India's aviation capacity and ease the heavy traffic burden on Mumbai's existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

"This is a project that has a glimpse of Viksit Bharat (developed India)," he told the gathering at the site.

The airport will attract fresh investments and create new job opportunities, the PM noted.

Modi highlighted the growth of the country's aviation sector and pointed out how it has evolved and expanded under his leadership since 2014.

India, which is the world's third largest domestic aviation market, had just 74 airports in 2014, but their number has gone up to more than 160 in the last 11 years, the Prime Minister said, suggesting his government's focus on the key sector.

According to him, lakhs of people have taken to the skies with the government's regional air connectivity scheme UDAN.

Highlighting that Indian airlines have placed orders for more than 1,000 new aircraft, Modi said the target is to make the country a global MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) hub.

Speaking on the occasion, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani maintained the airport will provide wings to people's dreams, aspirations and emerge as a symbol of a defining superpower as India moves towards its goal of becoming a developed nation.

"In an era where India ascends among the world's largest economies, we have built more than an airport -- we have architected Bharat as a gateway and as one of the world's most indispensable crossroads," said the noted industrialist.

"This is infrastructure that does not just serve today's demand, it creates tomorrow's exponential possibilities. For generations to come, every flight through these terminals will carry not just passengers, but the pulse of a defining superpower and the dreams, ambitions and achievements of a nation reclaiming its place at the centre of global progress," Adani affirmed.

Prior to formal inauguration, the Prime Minister took a walkthrough of the newly constructed facility.

Speaking on the occasion, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said NMIA will help create around two lakh job opportunities and make Mumbai the country's aviation capital.

He also said the entire project, which is spread over five phases, is expected to entail an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore.

"NMIA is a landmark in India's aviation journey, uniting cutting-edge technology, sustainability and a passenger-first experience," said Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd.

By complementing CSMIA, it reinforces Mumbai's role as a global aviation hub and sets a blueprint for future-ready airports nationwide, he stated.

The inauguration function was attended by Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, among others.

NMIA received the aerodrome licence from the regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on September 30.

The airport, upon completion of all phases, will have four terminals with a capacity of 90 million passengers per annum and a cargo capacity of 3.25 million metric tonnes, making it one of the largest aviation hubs in Asia.

A release from the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday said NMIA will be the first airport in the country to be connected by water taxi.

The airport will have an Automated People Mover (APM), a transit system planned to connect all four passenger terminals, landside APM linking the city-side infrastructure and a dedicated storage for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), among others, the statement had said.

NMIA will be named after politician and social activist late DB Patil, who is widely hailed for his work that ensured project-affected persons in the region received rightful compensation. It will be officially known as 'Loknete DB Patil Navi Mumbai International Airport'.

Designed as a multimodal hub, NMIA will be seamlessly connected to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai Metro, suburban rail networks and planned waterways.

This integration will reduce travel times, enhance regional connectivity and strengthen cargo and passenger movement across the vast hinterland of western India.

Inspired by the lotus, India's national flower, NMIA's architecture blends cultural heritage with world-class design and sustainability features, creating an airport that is both rooted in Indian identity and aligned with future aspirations.

In its first two phases, NMIA will operate with a single runway and terminal capable of handling 20 MPPA. Over time, the airport will scale to four runways and multiple terminals, with a dedicated cargo terminal and state-of-the-art facilities for perishables and express cargo, boosting India's trade and logistics ecosystem. PTI IAS MR VT RSY