Mighty task force to help get Navi Mumbai International Airport off the ground

To complete the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) by 2019, Maharashtra government has set up a 23-member task force that will work on a war footing to meet all requirements.

According to the state cabinet's decision, the state government has set up the task force to deal with various agencies that are part of the proposed NMIA in Navi Mumbai.

The mammoth task force will be headed by the state chief secretary. Its members include secretaries of the home, finance, energy, and revenue & forest departments, and the chief of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

"The task force will work to get the security clearance, electric supply, water supply and so on for the proposed airport. It will work as a coordinator to get all sorts of approvals and clearances on time," said a notification frm the state government, a copy of which is with DNA.

Groundbreaking

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently broken ground for the project at a ceremony. While inaugurating the function, Modi asked the state government and the nodal agency — CIDCO — to finish the project on time. He had joked he would come for the final inauguration only if the deadline was adhered to.

"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wants to complete the project on time so that they can showcase this infrastructural development work before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress sat on the files for 15 years but could not make any progress. The incumbent government wants to highlight this during the elections. Therefore, the airport project has to be complete by 2019," said a person who is privy to project-related developments.

Sources close to the development also said that Chief Minister Fadnavis had asked that alongside the airport, railway and Metro connectivity to the airport should be established.

FLIGHT PLAN

• CIDCO is the nodal agency to implement the NMIA project, which is likely to cost Rs 16,704 cr. 
   
• It is estimated to attract at least 10 million fliers a year once its first phase is operational. 
   
• GVKPIL holds 74 per cent of the equity shares of NMIAL through its subsidiary Mumbai International Airport Ltd, while CIDCO holds the remaining 26%.