The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is expected to grant an aerodrome licence to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), developed by the Adani Group, by the end of August, with full commercial operations targeted for mid-November, according to senior officials of Adani Airports Holdings Ltd (AAHL).The licence is a critical requirement for operations to begin. AAHL applied several months ago, and DGCA officials conducted an inspection in mid-July. A final inspection will follow in the coming weeks. AAHL CEO Arun Bansal said, “Post inauguration, it will take around 45 days to begin commercial operations. We will hand over the airport to CISF for security and commence domestic and international flights simultaneously.”Within six months of launch, NMIA is expected to reach its installed Phase 1 capacity of 20 million passengers annually. With demand projected to rise further, AAHL has advanced the next phase of development, which will increase total capacity to 60 million passengers per year, up from the initially planned 30 million. This can be extended to 65 million if required.Construction of Phase 2 is slated to start three to six months after Phase 1 operations begin and is targeted for completion by 2029. The expansion will include a second runway, a second terminal, an automated people mover linking T1 and T2, and a metro connection.Phase 1 involves an investment of Rs 200 billion, including preparatory work for Phase 2 such as rock blasting and ground filling. Total investment in the project is expected to reach Rs 500 billion by the end of Phase 2.Meanwhile, AAHL has decided to delay the demolition of the T1 domestic terminal at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to coincide with the inauguration of NMIA’s T2 in mid-2029, to prevent congestion at CSMIA’s T2. By 2032, T1 at CSMIA is expected to reopen.Although 40 km apart, CSMIA and NMIA are designed to work in sync, and by 2032 will have a combined capacity of 120 million passengers annually, making them one of the world’s largest airport systems.