31.1.11

Navi Mumbai airport update

The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has received a permission from defence authorities for proposed airport at Navi Mumbai. With several military and sensitive installations in and around the area, defence’s permission was required for the airfield. “We have got permission from defence authorities as well as consent for the Rs 1,300-crore plan for road and rail connectivity for the new airport,” said a senior bureaucrat. The state and the Centre last week approved the rail-road connectivity project. The decision came up at the meeting of officials from Cidco, Jawaharlan Nehru Port Trust-led road corporation, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and PWD at New Delhi. The move will help facilitate building Metro and suburban routes. The authorities plan to convert Uran-Panvel highway, Belapur-Panvel state highway and Belapur-Uran highway (Amra Marg) into eightlane expressways. Besides, the official said, the state PWD is now in the final stages of commencing the work on Sion-Panvel highway expansion project, which was stuck due to delayed tendering process. The projects are expected be over by June 2013. Cidco has appointed Lea Associates to design the rail –road network to the airport, which includes planning of Metro and suburban rail routes connecting the upcoming as well as the existing airport and south Mumbai via the Nhava-Sewri sea link. “The final blue print of the design is expected by March,” said the official. Cidco sources said the US-based M/s Lee has been appointed to work out mangrove replantation in and around the airport. Cidco officials met project affected persons (PAPs) last week.

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