The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has started the process to develop NMIA, but the one to erect a Metro rail corridor for connecting the airports is still stuck in bureaucratic tangles of multiple government offices.
Having a dedicated Metro to connect Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) and the planned Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is a far-fetched idea, at least for now.
The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has started the process to develop NMIA, but the one to erect a Metro rail corridor for connecting the airports is still stuck in bureaucratic tangles of multiple government offices.
"Cidco is yet to decide on having a Metro between the two airports. It doesn't even have a report on how the two airports can be connected," said a state official.
The Dahisar-Charkop-DN Nagar-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro and the Panvel-Nerul-Vashi corridor with a link between Mankhurd and Vashi is how the two airports can be connected.
However, there has been little progress, with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority merely preparing the detailed project report (DPR) of the Dahisar-Charkop-DN Nagar-Bandra-Mankhurd stretch twice.
The Dahisar-Charkop-DN Nagar-Bandra-Mankhurd corridor has been divided into two phases — Metro-2A on Dahisar-Charkop-DN Nagar (18.5km) stretch and Metro-2B from DN Nagar-Bandra-Mankhurd (23.6km) stretch.
From Mankhurd to the NMIA, the Cidco is supposed to erect a Metro line including a bridge crossing the Vashi Creek.
With respect to the Panvel-Nerul-Vashi (25km) stretch, a part of it was to run along the Palm Beach Road. In 2010, an idea was floated to extend this corridor right up to Mankhurd so that Metro-2B could be linked with this line.
Currently, implementation of Metro-2B is still in the initial stages and far from getting into the bidding process. Also, the Cidco has suspended its decision for an extension of its Metro link. "Whenever they decide to extend the Panvel-Nerul-Vashi corridor, a DPR will be prepared accordingly and only then it will be executed," said an official.
On the other hand, Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation has also undertaken the process to revise the high-speed rail corridor plan between CST and Panvel through consultant RITES. As per the latest concept plan, it will partially utilise the same alignment (of Palm Beach Road) as the Panvel-Nerul-Vashi Metro corridor and skirt the NMIA.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was apprised about it a month ago.
Therefore, uncertainty looms over the possibility of a direct rail connectivity between the airports of the MMR.
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