At Long Last

Though late, it is indeed a matter of immense relief for the Indian civil aviation sector that the second international airport at Navi Mumbai has finally been cleared

With its two operational runways, the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) at Mumbai is currently handling more than 30 aircraft movements per hour at peak time and over 30 million passengers annually. Even though CSIA has undergone comprehensive modernisation and upgradation, because of lack of space, it has not been possible to build additional and parallel runways. The existing cross runways have inherent limitations that could limit the capacity to handle less than 40 aircraft movements per hour and a maximum of 40 million passengers annually. Judging by the rate of growth in passenger traffic consequent to the revival in the airline industry, Mumbai airport is likely to reach the saturation point in three years time. Traffic congestion at CSIA is already beginning to be somewhat unmanageable leading to severe congestion and a degree of chaos. The interminable delay in arrival and departures is exasperating to both passengers and airline managements. In the context of the deteriorating situation, some of the leading private carriers have even threatened to discontinue flights to Mumbai if the situation does not improve. Non-scheduled operators, corporate jets and owners of private aircraft have lower priority and are worse off. The airline industry is economy driven and it is estimated that in the resurgent Indian economy, the financial capital of India would need to cater to annual traffic of 90 to 100 million by 2030. Hence, the need for a second international airport in Mumbai is urgent, inescapable and a dire necessity.

First mooted in 1997 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), the proposal for a second international airport to be located in Navi Mumbai was supported by the Government of Maharashtra as the area lay within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the infrastructure there was well developed. Intended to be developed in phases on the public-private partnership (PPP) model, here the private investor would hold a majority stake. The new international airport with two parallel runways 1,800 metres apart when finally completed was planned to have a capacity to handle 60 million passengers annually. However, on account of concerns raised by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the search for alternatives began and as many as 17 sites were evaluated afresh. However, all but Navi Mumbai were ruled out for one reason or another and it became clear that the proposal mooted by the MoCA in 1997 was emerging as the only viable option and a more or less a fait accompli.

Unfortunately, the proposal remained mired in bureaucratic labyrinth involving not only the MoCA and the MoEF but also a number of other ministries and agencies such as the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra. There was also the problem of obtaining special dispensation from the court in respect of major construction activity in the Coastal Regulation Zone and the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. There was also the need to engage in a legal battle related to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against the proposal in 2006. It was only after a decade of bureaucratic wrangling that the Union Cabinet accorded in-principle approval to the proposal for a second international airport at Navi Mumbai.