Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) and the final phase of Mumbai’s Metro-3 corridor, along with key stretches of the city’s metro expansion, on 8 and 9 October. The inauguration coincides with his participation in the International Fintech Festival in Mumbai.

With the commissioning of the final 6.5 km stretch between Acharya Atre Road and Cuffe Parade, the entire 33.5 km Colaba–Bandra–SEEPZ Metro-3 line will become fully operational. Modi had earlier inaugurated the Aarey–BKC stretch in October 2024 and the BKC–Acharya Atre Road segment in May 2025.

The Prime Minister will also launch the first phase of Metro Line-2B, connecting Mandale to Chembur (Diamond Garden), further boosting east-west connectivity in the city.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed that the state government has formally proposed naming the Navi Mumbai International Airport after social activist D. B. Patil, with the Centre responding positively. He also sought the transfer of 58 acres of Airports Authority of India land in Dahisar (East) to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for public use and urban development.

Developed as a greenfield airport through a joint venture between Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (74 per cent) and CIDCO (26 per cent), NMIA’s first phase will handle 20 million passengers annually and 0.5 million metric tonnes of cargo. Future phases aim to expand capacity to 90 million passengers and 3.2 million metric tonnes of cargo.

Air India Express, the low-cost arm of the Air India group, will be the first airline to operate from NMIA, with 20 daily departures covering 15 cities during Phase 1. The group plans to expand to 55 daily departures, including international services, by mid-2026 and 60 daily departures by winter 2026.