The proposed international Navi Mumbai airport project could get off the ground soon with the Union civil aviation ministry agreeing in principle to amend the CRZ1.
NEW DELHI: The proposed international Navi Mumbai airport project could get off the ground soon with the Union civil aviation ministry agreeing in principle to amend the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ1) provision.
The airport, slated to come up on 2,750 acres at Panvel, has run into trouble because of objections from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
At a meeting with the Union civil aviation ministry and Cidco (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra) officials recently, the ministry gave an in principle nod to amend the ‘CRZ 1’ provision, which will allow the airport to come up at the designated site.
Meanwhile, an expert panel has been constituted comprising members of the Central Water and Power Research Institute (CWPRI, Pune) and IIT Mumbai to carry out a technical study.
Both these measures would enable the project to get clearances soon, sources said.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified as CRZ the area 500 metres landwards from the high tide line. The Ministry had earlier ruled out development of the airport on the grounds that 25% of the proposed site fell under CRZ 1 and, therefore, it could not be commercially developed. Turn to DNA Mumbai, p4
Cidco has already invited expressions of interest to appoint a consultant for the project.
Sources said that all the three measures – Getting the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) to amend the CRZ1 provision, setting up a panel to devise mitigation measures, and Cidco’s attempts at finding a consultant and a strategic partner – are simultaneously on, and the project should be ready for execution within the next few months.
The Navi Mumbai airport is necessary if Mumbai wants to keep pace with growth in aviation traffic: It is expected to absorb 10 million passengers in its first operational year 2012, doubling the capacity to 20 million by 2020 and 40 million by 2030.
Like other greenfield airports coming up across the country, the one at Navi Mumbai will also take the public-private partnership route so that Cidco will ultimately hold only 26% equity in the project.
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