The Maharashtra government has zeroed in on two places — Kelva-Mahim and Dapchari for Mumbai’s satellite airport in Palghar district. At Kelva-Mahim the district collectorate has begun work on the project by identifying three plots and has started data collection process which includes identifying government and private land at each of the sites. The alternative site is that is being looked at is at Dapchari, about 70 kilometers from Kelva-Mahim, confirmed a senior state official from the revenue department who is privy to the development.
“We have identified three sites of 400 hectares each at Kelva-Mahim for the airport. Once we complete the process of identifying the owners of the land, the details will be submitted to the Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC), which will then conduct a feasibility survey,” said the official requesting he not be quoted.
The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and MADC are jointly working on the airport plan. The revenue department is working along with these two state government agencies in identifying suitable sites for the proposed airport. Once the site is identified, the concerned agencies will approach the Director General of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India for necessary approvals. The main criterion is a suitable-sized flat tract.
“We are planning to develop this airport by building runways anywhere between 1800-metres to 2400-metres and a small terminal with a parking facility for a few aircrafts. Aircrafts such as Airbus A330-800 and Boeing 777-200 need a 2400-metre runway to land while a Boeing737-100 can be operated on an 1,830-metre runway and Airbus A320 and AirbusA318 require 1,780-metre runway for operation,” said a senior from chief minister office, also not wishing to be named. This new airport should be able to accommodate all kinds of aircrafts he added.
Planned as the city’s third airport it will be used for landing of small aircrafts, for emergency situations such as floods, and for VIP movements to begin with, he added. The facility will then be upgraded as and when required. In a meeting on May 10, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had directed the MADC officials to speed up the execution.
Mumbai airport has already reached saturation level. Its further development is slowed down due to difficulties in shifting the existing slums on airport land. The development of Mumbai’s second airport at Navi Mumbai too has been bogged down on account of opposition of local residents who had initially refused to sell their land for the project. The first phase of the Navi Mumbai airport, which is expected to handle 40 million passengers when it becomes fully operational, is likely to be commissioned by the end of 2024.
