MUMBAI: The construction of a terminal building and a runway of the much-awaited Navi Mumbai international airport will be completed by 2019 end, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured the State Legislature on Tuesday.
“The developer has assured that the terminal and runway at Navi Mumbai International Airport will be ready by December 2019. It will be able to handle 50 lakh passengers. The second phase of the airport will be operational in the next two years,” Fadnavis told the Legislative Assembly during question hour.
Several members of the house who participated in the debate over the issue stressed on the need to decongest the existing Mumbai airport, where on an average, one plane takes off per minute. Most of the members opined that the Navi Mumbai airport needs to be completed timely.
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan who had raised the question wanted to know about the fee for the development and transfer of land provided for the rehabilitation of those affected by the project.
In reply, the chief minister said a fee is levied only if the land given to the project-affected people is transferred to a third party for redevelopment.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the first green-field international airport which will have two parallel runways and will handle close to 80 flights an hour.
The Rs 16,700-crore Navi Mumbai airport was planned in 1997. Ten villages in Navi Mumbai have been affected by the proposed airport.
Till now, CIDCO has rehabilitated nearly 400 of the 3,500 affected families. Each family has been offered alternative plots, monetary compensation, construction aid, rent allowances and additional amenities in the Pushpak Nagar where they will be rehabilitated.