Interiors of the newly-constructed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) ahead of the inauguration of its first phase, in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Ahead of the commissioning of the Loknete D B Patil Navi Mumbai International Airport (LDVPNMIA), the Maharashtra government has set the ball rolling to link the new airport in Ulwe in Raigad district, Mumbai, through a tunnel.
The NMIA would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu and Union Minister of State of Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Wednesday.
Shinde, who is the state Urban Development Minister, chaired a meeting of top officials in which he asked the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA to look into the feasibility of a tunnel project between LDVPNMIA and Mumbai, which will help transfers from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and making commiting from Mumbai to NMIA hassle-free.
The new airport will transform the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), which comprises the twin districts of Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban and large stretches of adjoining districts of Palghar-Thane-Raigad.
The NMIA will support the rapidly growing air travel needs of MMR and Pune metropolitan region (PMR).
The distance between the CSMIA and NMIA is around 40 km, however, connectivity issues are being addressed.
A seamless transfer model, supported by multimodal transport - road, metro, suburban rail, and water links - will eventually connect LDVPNMIA and CSMIA, ensuring that India’s busiest business city operates with the same infrastructure sophistication as premier world capitals.
The City Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) is already executing the Mumbai-to-Navi Mumbai airports Metro linkage.
"To ensure seamless movement, Shinde has instructed the MMRDA to study the feasibility of constructing a tunnel connecting the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and Bandra Kurla Complex to the NMIA,” officials said.
The high-level meeting was attended by Shinde’s Principal Secretary Naveen Sona, MMRDA’s Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, and other senior officials.
Shinde asked officials to prepare a detailed feasibility report, including the technical, financial, and environmental aspects, with opinion from experts in infrastructure design and tunnelling.