Navi Mumbai International Airport likely to get key land approval in 3 weeks

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office is taking keen interest in crucial decisions related to the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport and a key approval is now expected in less than three weeks, said two people familiar with the development. 

The approval is for handing over 250 hectares of land at Sudhagad in Raigad district by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the nodal agency for the development of the proposed airport, in lieu of 108 acres of mangroves that will be taken over for the project. The Prime Minister's Office has put the proposed project in the new governance programme, Pragati -- Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation. 

According to CIDCO officials, it has already received permission for the Vadghar project, meant to rehabilitate people displaced by the airport project. 

"Things have been moving quite fast since the Prime Minister's office is now directly connecting with the chief secretary of Maharashtra with regard to Navi Mumbai International Airport project," CIDCO managing director Sanjay Bhatia told ET. The chief minister has also set up a war room and this is also helping in better inter-departmental coordination." 

Bhatia, who spoke on the sidelines of a conference organised by think tank Mumbai First, declined to comment on the likely timing of of the approvals. 

Permission for the rehabilitation project was delayed as CIDCO had to obtain approval from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority CIDCO is likely to get approvals for the proposed Pushpak Nagar township close to the airport in the next few days, the people said. 

The Navi Mumbai airport has been delayed primarily because of issues of land acquisition from villages, which led to skepticism from infrastructure developers. The government had initially approved setting up the airport in 2007. 

It was supposed to be completed by 2015 and is likely to be ready by December 2018. Planned as an alternative to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport located across the Mumbai suburbs of Santa Cruz and Andheri, the Rs 14,573-crore Navi Mumbai airport project is likely to be completed in four phases. The airport will span an area of 2,867 acres with a terminal building of 5,23,000 square meters and two runways. 

Four companies have made initial bids for the airport: GMR, GVK, the Tata Group in a tie up with Ferrovial, and Hiranandani Group in partnership with Zurich Airports. Bhatia recently said the project should be awarded by December. The delays and uncertainty over land acquisition led global airport developers such as Fraport to stay away from the project. Fraport owns 10% of the GMR-led Delhi International Airport. 

Experts have said the success of the airport depends on allied transportation services and routes, including the 22-km trans-harbour link connecting the main city and its satellite arm. UPS Madan, commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, said recently that given the timely financing, the Rs 11,000 crore link may be completed along with the Navi Mumbai airport 

Navi Mumbai International Airport project back on track

The Navi Mumbai International Airport has been conceptualised as the eighth largest in the world, spread over an area of 1160 hectares to handle 60 million passengers a year and at an estimated cost of Rs 14,500 crore.

Mumbai's dreams of becoming the first city in the world to boast of two airports never took off as the city developer CIDCO was unable to acquire land from farmers. But this all is set to change, reports CNBC-TV18’s Alexander Mathew. According to CIDCO, the Navi Mumbai International Airport Project has four good bids now.

“We have Vinci, Zurich airport, then GVK, GMR. So all these four are pretty good guys and their offers are now getting technically examined. By mid-April we should know who all qualify. After that they have to submit their RFP --the proposal, the bid which they are making, which is a percentage of gross revenue to be given to CIDCO.

We will be giving them three-four months time to make that offer. So my expectation is that we should be able to finalise the partner by December-end,” said Sanjay Bhatia, Vice-Chairman & MD, CIDCO. The development of Mumbai's second airport is likely to go up by Rs 550 cr as Budget 2015 removed the service tax exemption on the construction of greenfield airports. Neverthless, CIDCO is moving ahead, and has begun issuing tenders for civil work at the site of the proposed airport. This pre-development work is estimated to cost around Rs 2,400 crore, and is likely to begin after monsoons this year.

So what does this mean for residential prices in the vicinity of the upcoming airport? Prices in areas like Panvel, Belapur, Kharghar and Ulwe surged around four years back when the project was announced. In the case of Kharghar, prices have risen from Rs 3,000 a square foot to around Rs 9,000 now. In Panvel, they have risen from below Rs 3,000 a square foot to around Rs 7,000. Real estate consultant CBRE believes prices won't escalate that much once construction of the airport starts. One reason being the airport has already been factored into the current pric

Cidco to go online to clear building plans

NAVI MUMBAI: The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has decided to replace the age-old system of manual clearance for building proposals with online applications, promising speedy delivery of plans and early approval.

The decision comes in the backdrop of rapid expansion and growth in the south side of the city, extending deep into Raigad district. With construction activity having gained pace in Ulwe in the wake of the airport development, Cidco is now looking at new cities and townships ? the port city in JNPT influence area, Pushpak Nagar close to the proposed airport with plans of metro connectivity and Naina for which it is the special planning authority.

Mohan Ninawe, senior PRO (Cidco), said that online clearance would take around a fortnight instead of a long wait of a month or more.

Builders and developers will get early clearances and cut the waiting time for their building proposals to be approved with the introduction of auto development control regulations (DCR).

"There are around 100 to 200 proposals per month that have to be cleared and the manual checking takes time. This results in project delays and, at times, can also add to the cost of capital. For early execution of projects, Cidco has decided to opt for the online facility," said Ninawe.

He added that the software is available in the market, but will have to be customized as "DCR is different for our area". The software has been availed by three municipal corporations for early disposal of proposals ? Pune, Kalyan-Dombivli and Aurangabad. The online facility will get started in another three months, sources said. The delay is due to the customization of the software.

20,000 Illegal Constructions in Navi Mumbai to be Regularised

MUMBAI:  Maharashtra government will regularise 20,000 illegal constructions in adjoining Navi Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the state Assembly in Mumbai today.

The government will also allot 4 FSI for cluster development in Navi Mumbai, he said in the House.

NCP legislator Sandip Naik later told reporters that the government should verify if all project-affected people will get benefit of the decision.

However, BJP MLA Manda Mhatre said the earlier Congress-NCP government did not take the decision in the last 15 years, but Chief Minister Fadnavis has taken this decision which will benefit the people

No architect appointed for Seawoods-Uran Railway Stations

Navi Mumbai: It's been close to three years since Cidco floated the tender for designing and developing the four stations along Seawoods-Uran rail link, but it is yet to appoint an architect.

Chief engineer (special projects), Sunil Darade said, "We can technically go ahead with the single tender, as there have been two extensions, but a final call will be taken only after scrutinizing the bid." 

Cidco MD has held discussions about going ahead with the single bid for the tender, and the process to assess the bidder, a prominent city-based architect, is on, said sources. 

The tender was floated for the second time in August 2014, after two extensions, closed on February 25. 

The project has an estimated two-year period to develop the stations and a window period for the design selection and tendering process. 

The first phase of eight kilometres, of the 27-km rail corridor, was to be thrown open by end of 2017. 

Sources said that Cidco will have to take a call soon to appoint an architect to design the four stations providing connectivity from Seawoods station to Ulwe. 

The four stations in phase I to be designed and developed are Sagar Sangam, Targhar, Bamandongri and Kharkopar. The second phase has been planned to be completed by 2018. The Seawoods-Uran rail link has a total of 10 stations (including Seawoods, which will serve as a junction) and connect Uran and Dronagiri with the city, CST and Panvel on the Harbour and Thane on the Trans-Harbour track. 

Sources said that Cidco is attempting to fast-track the rail corridor to sync with the infra projects it has undertaken in Ulwe township. 

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis gives nod to MSRDC projects

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has given an in-principle approval to several big-ticket projects of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

Some of these projects are :

Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link

Augmentation of Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Bridges over Thane and Vashi creeks

Freeway on Ghodbunder Road

Smart Cities along Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Inland passenger water transport, etc. Apart from this, an approval has also been given for setting up of MSRDC India International, an international arm of the agency to take up projects for implementation in foreign countries.

MSRDC officials made a presentation to the chief minister detailing about the projects that were pending for clearance and further implementation for the last several years due to various reasons, including lack of funds with the corporation.

"Assurance has been given by the CM on speedy formation of cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure and thereafter quick clearances to the projects of the MSRDC," said Eknath Shinde, chairman of MSRDC

CITY MAY GET EIGHT NEW TRAIN STATIONS

Mumbai may get eight new railway stations along the fast growing VirarDahanu belt as theproposed four-tracking of the lines - announced by union railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday - contains a section describing a plan to include these stops. The 11,441 crore, Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase 3, proposed b y M u m bai Railway Vik a s Corporation, has listed seven projects to be taken up immedi ately. One among them is the quadrupling of the lines between Virar and Dahanu with the setting up of eight new stations along this route. 

As things stand, just nine stations punctuate the 63 km stretch: Virar, Vaitarna, Saphale, Kelve Road, Palghar, U m r o l i , B o i s a r, Vangaon and Dahanu Road. In comparison, the 60 km route between Churchgate and Virar lists 28 stops. 

The proposal contains plans for stations at 

Wadhiv and Sartodi (between existing stations of Vaitarna and Saphale), 

Makunsar (between Saphale and Kelve Road), 

Chintupada (between Kelve Road and Palghar), 

Kharale Road (between Palghar and Umroli), 

Panchali (between Umroli and Boisar), 

Wanjarwada (between Boisar and Vanagon) 

BSES Colony (between Vangaon and Dahanu Road). 

A senior official warned that the terminals may not come up immediately, but are part of the study and have been identified and proposed on the projected growth of the area for future development of the area. 

The Virar-Dahanu stretch lies outside the purview of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. However, its proximity to the western suburbs, which are serviced by trains running on the ChurchgateVirar line, has caused a surge in passenger numbers, and consequently, given rise to a demand for new stations.The belt contains several large and medium industries, which supply the Western Railway much of its commuter traffic. Direct local train services between Churchgate and Dahanu were launched by WR in April, 2013 and the sector has been declared a `suburban section'. 

The new lines proposed will be laid on the western flank of the existing tracks - a dedicated freight corridor is expected to run along its eastern side. 

Prabhu has segmented the longterm plan for the city's rail network into three - 2014-2020, 2020-2026 and 2026-2031 - each based on study reports submitted by the MMRDA and the MRVC. 

The other works proposed are a new suburban railway corridor between Airoli and Kalwa (28 km), 47 new 12-car trains (which translates as 564 coaches by 2021), station redevelopment of 20 stations, trespass control works that include bridges, skywalks and boundary walls at stations with high death rates and technical assistance studies. The funding for all these will come from the World Bank, the railways and the government of Maharashtra. 

Significant funds have also been allocated for the construction of bridges, subways at various places in Mumbai and a monetary pool has been created for escalators and lifts and a number of stations for senior citizens and the disabled. 

The budget has completed the allocation of money for a fast line along the harbour line between CST and Panvel and a separate elevated cargo corridor at Kurla. The budget takes into account a study that will be undertaken for a new line between Thane and the Navi Mumbai airport. 

Prabhu has announced the railways will increase the speed of nine railway corridors from the existing 110 and 130 kmph to 160 and 200 kmph so that inter-metro journeys like Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Mumbai can be completed overnight.