Coastal dept OKs new Navi Mum airport plan

04 November 2010, Times of India

MUMBAI: The changed plan of the Navi Mumbai airport got a nod from the Maharashtra Coastal Management Zone Authority on Wednesday. The proposal will now be placed before the expert appraisal committee of the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on November 10. The state government and the union civil aviation ministry are hopeful that the permission would come before the end of November. As a result, only 99 hectares of mangroves will be destroyed and the entire Waghivali Island, which has mangroves will be declared a highly protected area. Sources in the government said that as per MoEF's direction, the Gadhi river will not be diverted while the City Industrial Development Corporation will have to divert Ulwe river. According to CIDCO officials, the costs will increase by at least ` 4,500 crore if Ulwe is not diverted. The distance between the two runways has been reduced from 1.8 km to 1.5 km to avoid the diversion of Gadhi river. Non-aeronautical activity will now take place on another piece of land. Following the MoEF's instructions, the mangroves on Waghivali island will not be touched and the CIDCO has been told to take steps to conserve them. Officials in the state environment department said that Ulwe river will have to be diverted. The Central Water and Power Research Station had prepared a plan for diversion without much damage to the environment. The MoEF expert appraisal committee had visited the site in September and suggested changes to the plan. The appraisal committee is also quite firm that the Ulwe river must not be diverted.

CIDCO submits airport report to ministry a day late

04 November 2010, Hindustan Times

MUMBAI: The City Industrial and Development Corporation (CIDCO), in charge of the Navi Mumbai airport project, missed its meeting with the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) on Tuesday. It went with the airport compliance report a day late, on Wednesday. “Our officials went with the report on Wednesday. We are aware that it was supposed to be given on Tuesday, but it took time,” said CIDCO managing director, Tanaji Satre. CIDCO’s delay has miffed officials in the central ministry considering the importance of the project and the pressure mounted by both the state government and civil aviation ministry for clearance. According to MOEF sources, it has been constantly pointed out that the existing Mumbai airport, with a carrying capacity of 40 million passengers, will reach saturation point by 2013 and that CIDCO’s proposed new airport is expected to handle 60 million passengers. “Yet, they did not turn up,” the source pointed out. The compliance report that CIDCO submitted consists of all changes proposed by the Experts Appraisal Committee that visited the Navi Mumbai site on October 18. Apart from re-aligning the runways by reducing their distance by 250 metres, shifting the 400-hectarenon-aeronautical area to the south, there were soil and water testing reports along with water drainage methodology reports that were required to be submitted. On October 27, Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh met civil aviation minister Praful Patel and had indicated that a compromise had been arrived at and the latter had promised to comply with all environmental adjustments put forth by the MOEF.

New airport inches closer to green nod

10 November 2010, Times of India

MUMBAI: A 10-member experts’ appraisal committee (EAC) of the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) will meet on Wednesday in New Delhi to finalize its recommendations on granting environmental clearance to the proposed airport in Navi Mumbai. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had said after the EAC’s site visit in October that 65% of the environmental issues had been resolved. Based on the EAC’s recommendations, the final decision will be taken by the MoEF led by Ramesh. Cidco had accepted to shift the runway and airport 300 metres towards south to avoid diversion of Gadhi river near the site and also on the Waghivali island where a thick mangrove lagoon will be created. However, there are objections over as to how the Ulve river, comparatively smaller than Gadhi, will be diverted and whether the demolition of hillocks will block the underground natural water streams around Ulve. EAC is also keen on saving rare species of birds that come to the area which lies close to Karnala bird sanctuary. The state government says that most of Ulve length that will fall inside the site area has saline water, which can be accommodated by creating a huge pond in Waghivali. “Cidco will divert the river from the mouth outside the site, from where fresh water gets mixed with saline. Similarly, underground natural streams of Gadhi and Ulve will be channelized towards the rivers,” said a state government official. However, all eyes are on the EAC as to what recommendations it makes to the MoEF while granting eco-clearance. “We have already shifted a huge commercial area to the south of the site. Further, not diverting Ulve may affect the financial feasibility of the project, which may keep international investors at bay,” said an official. The project with two parallel runways is estimated to cost over ` 9,600 crore.

Decks cleared for city to get second airport

11 November 2010, Hindustan Times

NEW DELHI: It looks like the city’s second airport at Navi Mumbai has cleared green hurdles and is closer to becoming a reality. On Wednesday, a Union environment ministry panel, the Experts Appraisal Committee (EAC), gave the airport site the much-delayed conditional clearance. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh is expected to announce his decision in the next few days. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in Mumbai that the second airport near Panvel, which will cater to 36 million people every year, has got the green nod, but Ramesh told HT: “Not yet done”. He refused to elaborate. The airport had been a bone of contention between the ministers for a while now. EAC chairperson Naresh Dayal said: “Most issues have been resolved.” Ministry officials said several conditions have been imposed on the City Industrial Development Organisation (CIDCO), which will build the airport. It has been asked to ensure that the Gadhi River is not diverted, a415-hectarebiodiversitygreen zone is created and all non-aeronautical functions that were to come up on the green zone in the north are shifted to the south. An interesting condition is that the airport cannot be made operational until better public transport a dedicated road or mass rapid transport system corridor to access it is built The EAC has also asked the state to constitute a panel to keep a check on the implementation of the plan. What remains is a nod from the National Coastal Zone Management Authority, the meeting for which is on November13. “We will put forth our recommendations within the next three days,” Dayal said.

Green nod for 2^nd city airport likely today

22 November 2010, Hindustan Times

MUMBAI: The ambitious Navi Mumbai airport, touted as the solution to Mumbai’s flying woes, is likely to get the much awaited final approval from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on Monday. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh is expected to make an announcement to this effect along with Union Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavanin Delhi. Chavan, who left for the capital on Sunday evening, has a scheduled meeting with Ramesh on Monday. Sources in the MoEF said the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the agency implementing the project, had addressed most of the green concerns and the Experts Appraisal Committee, which is scrutinising the project, recommended the approval to Ramesh last week. However, the approval will come with a strict rider that all environmental concerns must be met post-clearance during the implementation stage. MoEF is likely to insist on a foreign consultant to handhold the state to carry out all environmental safeguards during the actual construction phase. It may take another year before the project finally takes off and work contracts are handed out as the proposed changes will take time.

THE PROPOSED AIRPORT

1,140 hectares : Spread over 1,140 hectares of land at Panvel. The airport will have two parallel runways, capable of independent operations and full-length taxiways.

40 million : In the first operarional year, it will have the capacity to absorb 10 million passengers annually. By 2030, it will be able to handle 40 million passengers.

26 percent : The airport will be built through public-private partnership in which CIDCO/AAI will hod a 26% stake. The rest will be with the private developer.

4 years : The time it will take to build and open the airport for operations.

Green hurdle cleared, 2^nd city airport on fast track

23 November 2010, Hindustan Times

NEW DELHI: The Navi Mumbai airport has finally crossed its toughest hurdle. The Union environment ministry, on Monday, granted the long-awaited environmental clearance for Mumbai’s second airport. A formal announcement was made by environment minister Jairam Rameshat a joint press conference, along with civil aviation minister Praful Patel and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in Delhi. The clearance, mandatory before any construction begins at the green field airport, comes after months of hectic negotiations with Ramesh, who was wary of the damage to the ecology due to the project, mainly the destruction of mangroves and diversion of two rivers. “Some environmentalists may still be unhappy, but I am firmly of the view that this optimisation is the best possible solution. The emphasis should now be on ensuring commitments made by Cidco and conditions stipulated by the MoEF are fulfilled,” Ramesh said.The clearance comes with a strict rider asking the project developer, City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) to comply with 32 safeguards. Cidco will also have to seek the permission of the Bombay High Court and the central forest ministry in order to cut down mangroves on 98 hectares for the project. Earlier, Cidco had redesigned the airport plan to reduce the distance between the runways to avoid the diversion of Gadhi river. It had also agreed to shift its 400hectare non-aeronautical zone to the south of the site to save dense mangroves and tidal mudflats. HT had first reported on this compromise between the environment ministry and Cidco on August 22. Cidco will develop a 678-hectare mangrove park around the airport. It will take eight months to a year before Cidco can complete its bidding process and award work contracts for the construction, Chavan said. WHATNEXT CIDCO WILL HAVE TO GET PERMISSION from the HC as the airport plan requires hacking of 98 hectares of mangroves. The agency plans to move court next week. IT ALSO NEEDS APPROVAL from the forest ministry separately as per an earlier court order, as mangroves have been declared as protected forests. MoEF has assured speedy clearance. SOME ESSENTIAL safeguards like rehabilitation, construction of mangrove parks, flooding mitigation plan, base line survey of fauna at the site will have to be complied with before construction begins. IT WILL TAKE AN ESTIMATED eight months to a year to finish the bidding process and hand over work contracts for actual construction of the airport to begin. THE NEWAIRPORT It will initially absorb 10 million passengers annually. By 2030, it will be able to handle 40 million passengers. The cost of the project: ` 9,770 cr. The first phase will be completed by 2014-15 and will cost ` 4,000 crore. : The environmental clearance for the Navi Mumbai international airport is likely to make property prices in Navi Mumbai go through the roof. Manish Bhatija, director of Paradise Group, said: “It’s nice to know that the airport has finally been approved. We had been looking forward to it for a long time. The property market in Navi Mumbai will get a boost.” He added: “Residential property prices will rise by 15 to 20 percent, while commercial prices will rise 25 to 35 percent. Kharghar, Ulwe, Panvel and Kamothein particular will see a huge rise in property prices due to their proximity to the airport.” Suresh Haware, president of the Maharashtrian Builders’ Forum, said, “The City and Industrial Development Cooperation (CIDCO) and builders have been telling clients about the airport for the past 15years. It’s a milestone in terms of infrastructure.” He added: “Expect a 20 to 25 percent increase in prices. The hotel and tourism sector will also benefit. The airport will generate two lakh new jobs in Navi Mumbai.” Devang Trivedi, director of Progressive Builders, agreed. “With the airport, Navi Mumbai will become a self contained, complete city. There will be nothing that it lacks in terms infrastructure. Not only from Mumbai, but people from other areas such as Pune will come to reside here. Property prices will rise by 15 percent within a month. Also, less populated nodes such as Kalamboli, Khandeshwar and New Panvel will be in the limelight.” Manohar Shroff, general secretary of Navi Mumbai Chamber of Housing said the township was already a realty destination because of the facilities offered, smaller population and lower cost of living. “Navi Mumbai is now an education and commerce hub, which is attracting home buyers. The airport approval will accelerate this influx and impact the property market,” he added.

THE STORY SO FAR

23 November 2010, Hindustan Times

NEW DELHI:

1997 NOV: Centre studies need for second airport, committee appointed suggests Rewas Mandwa as the site.

2000 OCT: State writes to civil aviation ministry suggesting Navi Mumbai site because of better infrastructure.

DEC: Ministry asks state to undertake detailed studies on the site.

2001 SEPT: City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) submits techno-economic feasibility study to ministry.

2007 JULY: Union Cabinet gives in principle approval. AUGUST: Ministry of Environment and Forests returns CIDCO proposal saying it is not permissible under Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) norms.

NOV: Environment ministry asked to amend CRZ notification to enable airport construction.

2009 MAY: CRZ amendment making airport permissible, subject to certain measures, issued. CIDCO gets exemption from Bombay High Court.

JUNE: Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh raises concerns about irreparable damage to coastal ecology.

DEC: Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC)visits site after CIDCO submits proposal to the environment ministry seeking terms of reference.

2010 FEB: EAC seeks additional details of environment impact study.

MAY: Public hearing for airport is held.

AUG: Compromise worked out after consultations between environment and aviation ministries.

AUG-OCT: Deliberations begin to satisfy Ramesh’s demand to save mangroves, minimise diversion of water bodies.

OCTOBER: EAC visits site again, asks for redesign to prevent hacking of mangroves, diversion of at least one of the two rivers on the site. CIDCO agrees, shifts non-aeronautical zone to the south to save 400 hectares of mangroves, reduces distance between runways to prevent diversion of Gadhi river and minimise impact on Ulwe river.

NOVEMBER 20: Ramesh gets final recommendations from EAC granting approval on the condition that 32 environmental safeguards are met.

NOVEMBER 22: Final environment clearance issued.

Navi Mumbai airport finally takes wing

23 November 2010, Times of India

NEW DELHI: The country’s financial capital will have a second international airport at last, with the Union ministries of environment and aviation and the Maharashtra government’s Cidco shifting their positions to meet each other half way. The direly needed and much-delayed project has finally got the green clearance from the environment ministry and the tendering for the project will start soon. The ` 8,722-crore Navi Mumbai airport project, which will handle 60 million passengers per year by 2030, will take off soon, with civil aviation minister Praful Patel saying the project could be clubbed into two phases, instead of the originally planned four, to try to make up for some of the lost time. The project is expected to handle 25 million passengers annually by 2020. “The first phase should be completed by 2015. One runway at the existing airport will be under daily repair from next year,’’ Patel said.

Cleared For TAKE-OFF

The Navi Mumbai airport will be built through public private partnership on 1,160 hectares of land between Panvel creek and Karnala hills.

Cost:

Around 9,000 cr

Capacity:

Will handle 10 mn passengers per annum (MPPA) by 2015, 45 MPPA by 2025, and 60 MPPA by 2030

Compromises By Cidco

No hotels, non-essential facilities will be on site t Distance between the two parallel runways will be cut. Will not divert Gadhi river t Grow 615 ha of mangroves.

Environment Ministry Climb down

Allows part diversion of Ulwe river t Gadhi will be untouched, but one of its channels will be filled up t Permits 90-metre hillock to be levelled t Allows comprehensive and new EIA report to be filed later despite changes.

What’s Next?

Environment ministry may help state sidestep lengthy process to obtain mandatory permission from the Bombay high court to cut mangroves. Global bids to be floated to appoint a developer. Project work likely to commence after 8-12 months. First phase could be ready by 2015.

POSSIBLE IMPACT

Will ease congestion at existing airport
Project could create 2 lakh new jobs
City could get a trans-harbour link
Real estate prices around airport site will shoot up

TWO OF A KIND

Max passenger handling capacity
Mumbai airport: 40 mn (by 2015)
Navi Mumbai airport: 60 mn (by 2030)

MoEF lays down 32 conditions on Navi Mum airport project

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and civil aviation minister Praful Patel came together on Monday in New Delhi to announce the clearance. As part of the grand bargain, the environment ministry dropped its green objections on several fronts while, Cidco changed its plans to meet the environmental norms halfway. The ministry has put 32 conditions on the building of the project, which include shifting out of all the non-essential elements of the airport away from the mangroves. As per the agreement among stakeholders, one of the two rivers Ulwe, flowing through the airport site, will be diverted to accommodate the airport runways. The other, Gadhi, will remain untouched though one of its channels will be filled up. The fallout for the two rivers was a major issue with the environment ministry which cited the havoc caused by the diversion of Mithi river to insist that the course of the two streams should not be changed. Ramesh said he was 85% satisfied that the environmental concerns had been met. The environment ministry has allowed Cidco to cut 98 hectares of mangroves on the location but the project developers will have to plant 615 hectares of mangroves as biodiversity parks as compensation. The environment ministry also backed off on the levelling of a 90-metre high hill. Ironically, the climb down was facilitated by rampant mining on the hill that had brought down its ecological significance considerably. The minutes of the meeting of the expert appraisal committee show that though Jairam Ramesh was initially bent upon sticking to the law, the ministry softened its position for the sake of the airport project. The environment ministry has turned many of its concerns into conditions that Cidco has to meet. The requirements include preparing a new environmental impact assessment report and a detailed traffic management plan, setting up of a highlevel advisory and monitoring committee reporting to the airport management authority and a review of impacts on biodiversity along with the Bombay Natural History Society. “I have also asked the state government to set up a high-level advisory and monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of the environmental conditionalities at various stages,’’ Ramesh said. Chavan said that the state government would expedite rehabilitation of the 3,000 families along with securing of the land for the site still in private hands.

State to seek exemption to cut mangroves

23 November 2010, Times of India

NEW DELHI: In a bid to avoid another lengthy delay, the Maharashtra government will approach the Bombay High Court for an exemption from its order requiring a forest clearance to cut mangroves at the Navi Mumbai airport site. The environment ministry has approved of this move to side-step the need for yet another protracted clearance process. On Monday, the ministry gave the environmental clearance under the Environment Protection Act to the second international airport at Navi Mumbai. But the project could have been stalled for much longer if the environment ministry had insisted that the state government also seek a forest clearance as required under a Bombay HC order. In January 2010, the HC had ordered that all mangroves in the state should be treated as forests and accordingly project developers should seek clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, before the forests are chopped off. The clearance can take almost six months even if expedited as the proposal has to move from the lowest rung of the state forest department at the divisional level and then through successive layers to even reach the Centre for final clearance. The project, even after the scaled down version, requires clearing of nearly 100 hectares of mangrove land. The environment ministry has now suggested that the Maharashtra government approach the HC for an exemption and that the Centre would support it in its stance before the judiciary. The expert appraisal committee of the ministry has also embedded the need for a clearance from the HC as one of the 32 conditions it has imposed while giving clearance to Cidco for the ` 8,722-crore project that will cater to 10 million passengers annually by 2014. On Monday, in a joint press conference, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan did mention that the state government would approach the HC, though he or Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh did not refer to the contentious forest clearance.

Second airport: Too little, too late?

23 November 2010, Times of India

MUMBAI: For an airport slated to be born in the 2010s, Navi Mumbai airport doesn’t really pack a punch in terms of capacity. Going by current projections, the city will actually need a third airport by 2030 as the second airport does not present long-term solutions to the city’s ever-increasing air traffic demands. In 2015, when it will be ready for use, Navi Mumbai airport will have a passenger handling capacity of only 10 million/year. This is less than Bangalore (13 million/year) and Hyderabad (12 million/year) airports started with when they began operations a few years ago. Comparing it to airports internationally, it is only in 2030 that Navi Mumbai will be able to handle the massive load Tokyo’s Haneda handled in 2009—61 million passengers.

New airport to be saturated in two decades

Navi Mumbai airport will reach its saturate at 59 million passengers/year in 2030. For Mumbai airport, the saturation point is 40 million in 2015. “According to current economic projections, Mumbai is expected to get 85 million passengers by 2025. By 2029, the city will cross the 100-million passenger mark, saturating both airports and putting up a demand for a third one,’’ said an aviation analyst. One could argue that most mega cities have more than one airport and so Mumbai having three airports in the 2030s only conforms to the global trend. But Mumbai’s case is different. The reason? Unlike Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports, the third airport would have to have scope for future expansion, like several other big-city airports have (they are not located in the heart of the city, like Mumbai airport is). For example, London’s Heathrow, which handled 66 million passengers last year, will add a third runway and a sixth terminal building in coming years to push up its capacity.

“But the airports of Mum are land-locked. So the city’s fate hangs on the third airport. After all, to keep up with the growth, a city cannot go on adding airports for every 30-40 million passengers. It has to have at least one main airport that can handle over 100 million passengers,’’ the analyst added. If Navi Mumbai airport has to expand, it would have to move a railway line, a state highway and SEZ land, all of which is nearly impossible. So the third airport would not just have to look at the next 20-30 years, but would need the capacity to go beyond. What will stand out in the 2030s is Mumbai’s unique standing as a city with a number of “small airports’’. In a decade from now, Dubai’s new Al Maktoum airport is slated to come up with a passenger handling capacity of more than 160 million. The Beijing airport handled 65 million passengers in 2009 itself. “Most main airports of cities like Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore already have a saturation passenger-handling capacity of about 100 million/year. Delhi airport is planning a capacity of 100 million passengers. Mumbai, on the other hand, needs two airports just to touch that figure,’’ the analyst said. Another feature that will distinguish the Mumbai airports would be passenger profile. “Unlike Dubai, Singapore and Heath row, Mumbai is not a hub, and is not likely to be. So a majority of its passengers would not be transit passengers. The growth in passenger traffic for Mumbai’s airports would largely come from increasing domestic air traffic,’’ said an airport source. It will go the Dallas, Denver way.

Planting mangroves a tough ask, say experts

23 November 2010, Hindustan Times

MUMBAI: Environmental experts said the plantation of 370 hectares of mangroves around the Navi Mumbai airport site to compensate for the mangroves that would be destroyed for the project would not be easy. The environmental clearance specified that 678 hectares of mangroves would have to be in place before the airport work begins. About 370hectares of mangroves would be planted, while the rest already exist and will be preserved. “To plant mangroves over 370 hectares, you require an investment for the next 30 years both in terms of money and monitoring. A project of this scale would need a budget of ` 40 crore, but only a fraction of that has been allocated,” said a marine biologist, who did not wish to be named. Around 98 hectares of mangroves will have to be chopped for the two runways. To compensate, City and Industrial Development Corporation will develop anew 60-hectare mangrove park, adding to it 310 hectares of mangroves to the north-east of the airport site. Bombay Natural History Society has been given the task of mangrove plantation. The mangrove park is likely to have a bio-diversity park and a lagoon. According to experts, the plantation will have to be done taking into account that 60% to 70% of the mangroves will die every year and will have to be planted afresh in stages. The budget will have to be drawn up accordingly. For instance, to ensure that 100 hectares of mangroves survive, you have to plant saplings over an area of 1,000 hectares. This means planting one lakh saplings. Assuming a50% mortality rate in the first year, you would have to plant 50,000 saplings the following year. “Scientists will have to work backwards keeping mortality in mind. The newly - planted mangroves will have to be looked after for at least 20 years before they start self-sustaining,” said another expert.

LESSONS FROM GUJARAT

'There is strong erosion, hence the need for dense, compact plantations.' - Deepak Apte, Assistant Director, BNHS

Getting there a problem

23 November 2010, Hindustan Times

MUMBAI: The second international airport is being heralded as the new gateway to Mumbai, but poor connectivity could turn the dream into a nightmare. The airport will be 30 to 35 km from Mumbai but, with the current transport infrastructure, it could take up to two hours to reach it. The Sion Panvel Highway is crowded with trucks going to and coming from Navi Mumbai, as well as Pune, the Konkan and Goa. “Supporting infrastructure is critical. I hope the agencies concerned build infrastructure for better connectivity to the airport,” said South Mumbai MP Milind Deora. Three projects have been lined up to provide fast connectivity to the airport. However, all three the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), the Sion Panvel Highway Expansion and the Navi Mumbai Metro are dormant due to government inaction. MTHL, 22-km a sea link between Sewri and Nhava in Raigad, is stuck due to a feud between Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) over who should build the bridge. Both have staked claim to the project and have submitted different proposals for it. “MTHL will improve connectivity to the airport. It is up to the government to decide on who should build it,” MMRDA chief Ratnakar Gaikwad said. In April, then chief minister Ashok Chavan asked Urban Development Department Secretary TC Benjamin to prepare a report recommending which agency should get the project. The report was submitted, but no decision was taken. The Sion-Panvel Highway, which was to be expanded from six lanes to 10 lanes, was stuck in litigation and work is unlikely to start before next year. Transport experts said the government is only building additional roads that will put more cars on the roads instead of building an efficient public transport system. “What’s needed is a high-volume, high quality, low-cost public transport system which can get people to the airport. However, the government has no such project planned,” said transport expert Ashok Datar. “For a project of this size, you need a functional public transport system in place a year before the project starts,” he added. The only public transport system planned is the ` 4,000crore Belapur-Kharghar-Taloja Kalamboli Metro, which will be extended to the airport in the future. However, this line will help only those coming from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, while those coming from the city will have find their own way through gridlocked traffic. The new airport is expected to handle 10 million passengers ayear in the first phase and 45 million passengers by 2022.

WHAT THE NEW AIRPORT WILL HAVE

1,160 HECTARES Total area of the airport. It will have two parallel runways. The terminal will be built in the middle of both runways and will have complete access from either side.

1 LAKH Number of new jobs the airport will create directly. Another 1 lakh jobs will be created indirectly.

` 8,722 CRORE Likely cost of the project.

11,000 Number of vehicles the car parks will hold

11 Number of hangars the airport will have. The airport design will allow it to meet the ever growing needs of aeronautical technology and accomodate large aircraft such as the A380.

276 HECTARES Area for non-aeronautical activities such as a mangrove park.

10 MILLION/YEAR Number of passengers it will handle by the end of 2014. It will handle 25 million passengers a year by 2020.

60 MILLION/YEAR Number of passengers the airport will be able to handle by 2030.

150 Number of passenger counters the airport will have.

BADLY NEEDED

Projects that could improve connectivity to the new airport, but are stuck due to government inaction or litigation.

MUMBAI TRANS HARBOUR LINK : The 22 km sea link will provide connectivity from South Mumbai to the airport. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) both want to build the project. MSRDC plan includes 8-lane bridge for private vehicles, costing ` 7,761 crore. MMRDA plan includes 6-lane bridge with a Metro, costing `9,729 crore. MMRDA also plans a 28-km road up to Khopoli. This too would have a Metro attacked to it.
Status : No gevernment decision yet.

SION-PANVEL HIGHWAY : Plan to expand road into 10-lane highway. Plan floated a decade ago but was stuck in litigation and has now finally got the goa ahead. Work likely to start on expanding this 23-km stretch, but there is no high-volume public transport system planned for it.
Status : Work unlikely to begin until next year.

METRO : ` 4,000-crore Belapur-Khargar-Taloja-Kalamboli Metro, which will be extended to the airport in the future, planned. However, it wil help only those coming from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region; those coming from the city will have find their own way through gridlocked traffic.
Status : Construction to begin next month, first corridor to open by 2013.

MAJOR PLAYERS

CITY AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORTATION (CIDCO) is the nodal agency for the project

MUMBAI INTERNATINAL AIRPORT LTD. A consortium by GVK Industries that runs the existing airport, has first right of refusal for building the project.

LOUISE BERGER GROUP is the prime consultant.

There’s still a long way to go

24 November 2010, Hindustan Times

MUMBAI: The long awaited environmental clearance for the Navi Mumbai international airport is a big step forward, but it’s not the final approval required for the project to takeoff. City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the project developer, has the unenviable task of procuring three more approvals from the Central Ministry of Forests, the Bombay High Court and Union Ministry of Defence before work can begin. The project developer would also have to acquire 436 hectares of land to rehabilitate the 3,000 families from the surrounding villages that will be displaced by the project. This too must be done before work orders are issued. All this is in addition to the 32 stringent conditions and environmental safeguards specified by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. These include developing a mangrove park, getting anew Environmental Impact Assessment plan approved, putting together master plan to ensure against flooding and a security plan to safeguard against 26/11-style terror attacks. These will require additional funds and expertise. The authorities have only eight to 10 months to comply with all these conditions and initiate the bidding process. “We need separate clearances from the Bombay High Court for cutting of mangroves and another from forests ministry. We hope to get all the clearances within six months,” said Principal Secretary (Urban Development) TC Benjamin. From the air force and navy, a no-objection certificate will have to be sought. CIDCO officials plan to move the high court for the approval next week. The clearance from the forests advisory body is normally along-drawn-out process that can stretch for years, but officials said Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had assured the mof quick sanctions. Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel asserted that the clearance could come within 48 hours since all the parameters had been discussed at length for the environmental go-ahead. But, many officials were skeptical of files moving that fast. International airports have been built faster, but can the state government meet the 2015 deadline? “India built its first green field airport at Cochin, followed by Hyderabad and Bangalore. There is no reason why CIDCO can’t learn from these experiences and build atop-class airport in four years. The key is to get consultants of repute right from the beginning, for the bidding process as well as environment mitigation,” said former bureaucrat V Ranganathan. On its own, he added, CIDCO would not make the cut.

GETTING A MOVE ON

The much-delayed airport at Navi Mumbai was granted environmental clearance on Monday. Here are some of the changes the original plan underwent

ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY CONDITIONS

90-METRE-HIGH HILLOCK to be demolished without causing adverse environmental impact.

NO DIVERSION OF GADHI RIVER, course of Ulwe to be changed without flooding low-lying areas.

NON-ESSENTIAL FACILITIES to be shifted out of main project.

ALL CONSTRUCTION WORKERS to get good living facilities.

3,000 DISPLACED VILLAGE FAMILIES to be rehabilitated, villages to get the best possible infrastructure.

NOISE POLLUTION to be below permissible levels.

20% OF ENERGY must come from renewable sources.

THERE SHOULD BE a Metro line connecting airport to city.

MOST OF THE AIRPORT should be constructed with fly ash.

CIDCO MUST SUBMIT a plan on protection against floods and surface drainage since the airport site will be elevated while the surrounding area will be at a lower level.

FRESH ENVIRONMENT IMPACT Assessment report to be submitted, taking into consideration change in design, new hydrological scenario, mangrove lagoon, etc.

The environment ministry has said that villages around the airport will have to get modern infrastructure

LOTS TO BE DONE

The state government must seek these approvals before it can start construction of the airport at Navi Mumbai

Bombay High Court

City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) will have to move the court for permission to cut 98 hectares of mangroves. This follows a 2006 order that banned the hacking of mangroves and froze construction in a 50-metre radius around mangrove land.

Forests Ministry

CIDCO will have to ask for clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests again, this time under Forest Conservation Act since a recent high court order declared all mangrove areas as protected forests. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has assured speedy clearance.

Defence Ministry

The airport project will also require a no-objection certificate from the air force and the navy.