The first phase of the new international airport in Navi Mumbai could be ready by December 2018, according to the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra, which has embarked on Rs 20,000-crore worth of infrastructure development for the nodes managed by it in Navi Mumbai.
CIDCO Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Bhatia has indicated that the first phase of the Rs 14,500-crore airport will be ready by December 2018, when flights will start to take off and land.
He has also sent out a communiqué to several stakeholders listing out the various initiatives on the infrastructure front, including the settlement with almost all the villages to ensure smooth land acquisition for the airport, said CIDCO in a press statement.
CIDCO itself is developing a 600 square metre township for the airport.
The other key projects that CIDCO has undertaken include the Rs 2,100-crore metro rail project, the Rs 1,412-crore Nerul-Belapur-Uran railway project, the Rs 1,450-crore Balganga Dam to ensure drinking water to the city and several other works such as coastal road and bridges.
"We have also initiated steps to resettle project affected people with increased compensation and land allotment of developed plots," added Bhatia.
According to a CIDCO statement, it has prepared a three-year action plan for development of 13 schools, four professional colleges, one degree college, 32 hospitals, 34 religious and spiritual centres and 77 social welfare centres, including hostels, indoor sports facilities and community centres in the nodes being developed by it.