Navi Mumbai Airport: 70 Per Cent Construction Complete, To Be Operational In March 2025

The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will be operational by March 2025, according to Murlidhar Mohol, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation.

Mohol stated that approximately 70 per cent of the construction at NMIA, initially slated for completion by December 2024, is already finished. The remaining 30 per cent is expected to be completed by March 2025.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport, spanning an area of 1,160 acres, the airport project comes with a total estimated cost of Rs 16,700 crore. It will be equipped with two runways positioned 1.55 kilometres apart from each other.

NMIA, which will be the second airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), will address the capacity constraints at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

The new airport would shake up the demand-supply dynamics by adding 40 per cent more passenger handling capacity overnight to the MMR region. Conceived in 1999, the work of Navi Mumbai Airport started in 2017.

Pune Airport Expansion Plans

Mohol met with officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to review the expansion plans and address issues delaying the opening of a new terminal at Pune Airport.

Mohol revealed that the runway at Pune airport, currently capable of handling only Type C aircraft, will be expanded to allow operations for Type B and D aircraft. The expansion requires the acquisition of 35 acres, including both defence and privately owned land.

The newly constructed terminal building at Pune airport, costing Rs 475 crore, is complete but not yet operational due to a shortage of security personnel and pending regulatory clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

Additionally, Mohol announced that the Director General of Civil Aviation has approved the Purandar site for Pune’s new greenfield international airport. With all technical clearances in place, the land acquisition process for the Purandar airport will commence shortly.

These developments are expected to significantly improve air travel infrastructure and connectivity in Maharashtra.