After a long wait for 14 years, the Navi Mumbai International Airport finally seems a reality. Pre-development tasks have already started for this key project estimated to be worth as much as Rs.16,000 crore. CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) has already managed to acquire a majority of the land required for the project. CIDCO has already commenced the construction of temporary roads till the reclamation site as per reports.
The last environmental clearance was obtained in April, 2017 and the Maharashtra Government has now fast tracked this project. The first phase has started and this involves the changing of the Ulwe river’s course and also the flattening of the Ulwe hill. CIDCO is hopeful of finishing this work phase within just 18 months. CIDCO has also claimed to have smoothened out the last disputes and hurdles with the PAP (Project Affected People) from around 10 villages.
According to the Chief Engineer, NMIA, CIDCO, Sanjay Chaudhari, there are no major PAP linked issues, which have been left unsolved. CIDCO has taken up everything on a priority basis according to him and these people have already been handed the timeline for clearing their issues by the 30th of June, 2017. There could be minor personal problems, which can be sorted out over time according to Chaudhuri. CIDCO should finish the airport’s first phase by the year 2019. This will benefit the Mumbai region since there is a dire need for a second airport. The existing point has already reached its saturation point since it handles a whopping 40 million passengers annually. The Navi Mumbai airport is expected to add capacity of 60 million passengers and as a result, Greater Mumbai will be able to take up to 100 million passengers annually by the year 2033.
CIDCO is really ambitious about the Navi Mumbai airport project and there will be a 100 hectare corporate park that will come up in Kharghar which will be similar to the BKC. CIDCO is hopeful of drawing both corporate companies and investments with these initiatives. The real estate sentiments in the region are already witnessing a revival of sorts. According to Manohar Shroff, the Vice-President, MCHI-CREDAI, Navi Mumbai unit, enquiries have already increased and market sentiments are better than before. He added that there are also possibilities of prices going up by approximately 10-15%.
The 5 major micro-markets that will benefit the most due to the Navi Mumbai International Airport are Kamothe, Ulwe, Taloja, Kharghar and Panvel. The prices of property in these areas have already witnessed less than 4% appreciation over the last 2-3 years or so. The inventory overhang in Navi Mumbai already stands at around 2, 400 units and out of these close to 2, 000 units are ready to move in units which have remained largely unsold.
With the International Airport becoming a reality, these regions will witness better real estate growth and higher sales volumes. However, market experts feel that with the development of the airport, several such nodes in Navi Mumbai will greatly benefit but many of these nodes lack necessary social infrastructure yet. As a result, these may not be the best places to move in immediately for end users. Success of real estate in these nodes is hugely dependent on the kind of infrastructure planned by CIDCO. It is obvious that a lot rides on the Navi Mumbai Airport. GVK has won the bid for developing the project and the Chief Minister’s office is reportedly keeping a close eye on overall progress. Citizens are more positive about the project finally taking off and the first flight departing from the Navi Mumbai International Airport by the year 2019.
