Projects near Juhu airport may get hit

In a development that could greatly effect real estate projects near the Juhu airport, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has hinted that it will not be shutting down the airport’s secondary runway. The authorities also assured that the No Objection Certificates (NOC) that had been issued to nearly 120 projects in the recent past, many of which are high rise buildings, will be reviewed.
The development comes after continuous allegations of some elements in AAI making efforts to close the secondary runway, reportedly to favour builders and developers.

Sources keeping tabs on developments at the airport said that a meeting was held at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan in Delhi, AAI’s corporate office, on Wednesday. It was called after the government-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which runs its offshore operation from Bombay High using Juhu airport as its helibase, pulled all possible strings to stop the secondary runway from being shut.

ONGC is  the biggest operator from the airport and closure of the secondary runway would adversely affect its operations, government sources said, adding that the meeting was attended by AAI chairman VP Agarawal and Air Navigation Services member V Somasundaram, along with officials from ONGC, including its chief managing director Sudhir Vasudeva and few private operators.

“A presentation was made to the AAI officials, who later agreed with our point of contention, declaring that the secondary runway would not be shut,” said a source.

Another source confirmed that NOCs given to projects around the airport would be reviewed to ensure that they do not come in the way of flights landing or taking off.