MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has set a 2035 deadline to complete the proposed airport at Vadhavan in Palghar district, where one of India’s largest ports is also being developed. The airport, when ready, will be the third in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The government has begun work on a master plan for the greenfield offshore international airport by appointing a consultant to conduct a detailed techno-economic feasibility study and oversee the bidding process through the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC). The government plans to develop the proposed airport in Kore in Vadhavan as the third airport serving MMR, alongside the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports. It will serve a new city in Palghar, which will be developed around the aviation hub. The assessment will also factor in industrial expansion in Vasai-Virar, economic growth in districts along the Maharashtra-Gujarat border, tourism and rising per capita incomes. The plan will also identify the onshore infrastructure required for access, utilities, logistics and emergency response, he added. The techno-economic feasibility study will assess the regulatory framework and approvals required under the centre’s Greenfield Airports Policy. It will also examine potential government incentives and the broader economic benefits expected from the project.
The consultant will analyse at least 15 years of historical traffic data from airports within a 150-km radius of the proposed site, including Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports.
“The state government is targeting completion of the airport within the next nine years,” said a senior official from the state general administration department. “A key component of the feasibility study will be forecasting passenger, aircraft and cargo traffic up to the financial year 2070–71, with projections at five-year intervals beginning in 2035–36,” he added. The study will assess how existing airports and their planned expansions could affect the proposed facility’s traffic and growth prospects, the official said. “A major component of the master plan will be determining the airport’s offshore configuration, including whether it should be developed on reclaimed land, an artificial island or an offshore platform,” said a senior government official.
