NAVI MUMBAI: Global courier major FedEx announced a ₹2,500 crore investment for constructing an automated air cargo hub at the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport during a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday. This marks a decisive shift of cargo activity from Mumbai to the new aviation gateway.
The project gains urgency as standalone freighter operations at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport are set to be suspended from August 1 for airside upgrades.
The 300,000-sq-ft facility, being developed with Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, is expected to be completed in about two years. Officials said FedEx plans to begin interim freighter operations from Navi Mumbai as early as May, accelerating the migration of cargo operators.
The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis; Raj Subramaniam, president and chief executive officer of FedEx Corporation; Jeet Adani, director of Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, among others.
Once operational, it is projected to generate over 6,000 direct and indirect jobs across logistics, warehousing and allied services. It will serve as a regional consolidation and redistribution centre linking India with Southeast Asia, West Asia, Europe and the US.
Fadnavis said the investment reflected global supply-chain realignments and Maharashtra’s growing strategic importance. He described the new airport as part of a coordinated plan to integrate ports, airports and highways into a unified trade network.
Raj Subramaniam emphasised that large-scale logistics investments require institutional coordination, noting that the project represents “a coordinated effort to build an integrated logistics ecosystem,” he said.
Jeet Adani added that airports were evolving into economic engines rather than mere passenger terminals, and that Navi Mumbai’s proximity to industrial corridors and Jawaharlal Nehru Port would strengthen its logistics potential.
The greenfield airport, spread over more than 1,100 hectares with two parallel runways, is planned with an initial cargo capacity of 0.5 million metric tonnes annually, scalable to over 3 million tonnes in later phases.