Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation), provided an update on several connectivity projects associated with the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport. A look at these projects, their importance and current status: Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) The Navi Mumbai International Airport Limited (NMIAL) is currently developing the NMIA as an international airport to meet the growing air travel demand in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The project scope includes the development (in phases) of an international airport with a capacity of at least 60 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and 1.5 million tonnes cargo per annum. NMIAL is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed for the project's design, build, finance, operate, and transfer (DBFOT) implementation, with Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, and CIDCO participating in a 74:26 equity ratio. The CIDCO has finished acquiring the land and given it to the developer. Additionally, the environmental clearance is on its way. The project has reached its financial goal after State Bank of India (SBI), a public sector lender, assumed responsibility for the project's whole Rs 128 billion loan requirement. The original completion date for the project was 2021. The current cutoff date is 2024. To increase accessibility to the airport, a number of new roads have been planned, including the Thane-Creek Bridge, Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link. With a jetty built into the airport, it will also be connected to the water. The Mumbai port of Bhaucha Dhakka will be connected to this jetty. Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) The MTHL is a 21.8-km, six-lane, two-carriageway bridge that will connect Sewri in South Mumbai with Chirle in Navi Mumbai over 16.11 km of a sea link. It would offer direct access to the Navi Mumbai International Airport over the eastern seaboard and is described as India's longest sea bridge. The nodal organization for the project's construction, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), has received the full parcel of land for free from CIDCO once the land acquisition was completed. The Rs 180 billion project is receiving development loan support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The project's work started in April 2018, and it should be finished by the middle of 2023. MTHL Coastal Road Project From Amra Marg in the Raigad district to MTHL Junction, the CIDCO has planned a 7.021-km-long coastal road that includes the Airport Link Road in the area. Direct access between the MTHL and the Navi Mumbai International Airport will be made possible by the coastal road. Additionally, it will meet the traffic needs brought on by the projects anticipated from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. 5.8 km of the road's overall length (7.02 km) are a coastal road, and the remaining 1.2 km is an elevated Airport Link Road. The state government's forest department has given the project the go-ahead. For the project, it is awaiting approval from the Union Environment Ministry to divert forest land. Goregaon-Mulund Link Road The fourth significant link between the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai is the 12.2-km GMLR, an elevated road that runs from Goregaon in the western suburbs to Mulund in the eastern suburbs. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is building the project, and the tenders are likely to be finalized soon. There are four stages to the project's implementation. The project's initial phase is anticipated to be finished in 2023. When finished, it will improve communication from the west to the future airport. Thane-Creek Bridge (Vashi Bridge) The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is building the Thane Creek Bridge 3, or TCB3, which spans the Thane Creek channel between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai and consists of two independent three-laned bridges, each measuring 1.8 kilometres in length (MSRDC). This is an extension of the two bridges, known as TCB1 and TCB2, that already connect the two cities for automobiles. MSRTC and CIDCO are working together to build bridge number 3 in order to reduce traffic and enhance connection to the airport. Before October 2023, the bridge's construction is anticipated to be finished. Metro Rail CIDCO is creating four elevated routes as part of the Navi Mumbai Metro to substantially bolster Navi Mumbai's public transportation infrastructure (NMM). The CIDCO has requested preliminary research and a feasibility assessment from Maha Metro in order to establish a direct connection between the new airport and an existing NMM network line. See also: Maharashtra lines up infra projects for completion Over 400 Mumbai infra projects hit by cost and time overruns