• Source:JND
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In a major update, the wait for the start of operations at the Navi Mumbai International Airport is set to be over soon as the City and Industrial Development Corporation confirmed on Friday that the airport will be inaugurated on September 30.

The operations are likely to commence by November this year. CIDCO Managing Director and Vice Chairman Vijay Singhal, during a panel discussion on Building for Tomorrow's MMR, described the airport as the country's "biggest". He added that the Navi Mumbai Airport can be compared with London's Heathrow.

The Navi Mumbai Airport will also be connected to a water jetty, in the first of its kind system, that will take passengers to the Gateway of India and other locations across the financial capital of the country.

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The airport is located in Ulwe, near Panvel and is spread across 1,160 hectares. It is designed to serve as an alternative to Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), which is witnessing huge footfall.

The Navi Mumbai Airport is at a crucial location and is connected via the Goa Highway, JNPT port complex, and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Earlier in July, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis visited the under-construction airport and said that 94 per cent of the work was completed. He directed to double or triple the workforce to complete the project.

He had said that the inauguration was expected by September 30, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. To enhance connectivity, he said that an underground metro to the airport will be built.

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"This will be the most modern airport in the country…As we have to seek the appointment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (for the project launch), we have set the target of September 30 before them. It is an ambitious target," he had said.

The airport is being developed by a special purpose vehicle, Navi Mumbai International Airport Limited (NMIAL). The NMIAL is a joint venture between Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO), having 74 and 26 per cent stakes respectively.