NEW DELHI: All pending issues with Maharashtra on the second airport at Navi Mumbai would be resolved soon, after which the Centre would seek Cabinet approval for building it at an estimated cost of about Rs. 4,000 crore, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here on Monday.

The proposed greenfield airport would come up by 2012, and have the capacity to handle nearly 55 million passengers annually. Likely to be located in Copra-Panvel area, it would be built through public-private partnership, with the private sector getting 74 per cent equity. The rest would be held by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Maharashtra Government, and its City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).

Bidding in 2007

"We hope to start and complete the bidding process in 2007. The land required is about 1,140 hectares for the core airport activity, and the estimated cost will be between Rs. 3,200 crore and Rs. 4,000 crore," Mr. Patel told reporters after meeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh here.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation has already given its techno-feasibility clearance to the Navi Mumbai airport.

The two leaders also reviewed the development of the Nagpur airport as a national multi-modal hub to cater to domestic cargo and passenger traffic. Mr. Patel said additional land and infrastructure were required to expand the airport and a memorandum of understanding would shortly be signed between the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and the AAI.

On the shifting of people living in slums around the existing airport in Santa Cruz, Mr. Deshmukh said a rehabilitation proposal was being prepared to shift about 50,000 people. An alternative site would be allocated and houses constructed for them.

Land availability

On the Navi Mumbai airport, both Mr. Patel and Mr. Deshmukh said they had assessed land availability, cost of land, sharing of land cost and other issues. A CIDCO official said while 1,140 hectares would be required for core airport activity, another 470 hectares would be needed for city-side development.

The location of theairport had been considered on several parameters, including its capacity to absorb future growth in population, business and commercial activities. It would be located on NH 4B, about 35 km from the Santa Cruz airport.

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