The Hindu Business Line : New look for Mumbai

Imagine 40 million passengers every year taking off from and landing at the Chahatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai, which caters to half that figure. Visualise the airport handling one million tonnes of cargo per year, backed by a one-lakh sq m of floor space. Picture the state-of-the art terminals, glitzy retail outlets and elaborate car parking facilities. Indeed, this is how the airport in India's commercial capital is expected to look like within the next four years. The stage is set to revamp and upgrade the airport at an estimated cost of Rs 5,200 crore by Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between GVK-SA consortium and the Airports Authority of India.

Major challenges

While MIAL's blueprint for the airport conjures up images of it becoming a global benchmark, the company will have to face several constraints such as rehabilitation of slums at the periphery of the airport. Doubtless, the company will have to overcome some major challenges to convert its blueprint into a concrete reality.

According to Mr G. V. Sanjay Reddy, MIAL's managing director: "The transformation of CSIA is one of the most challenging airport development projects. In fact, these challenges have encouraged us to think innovatively and look at all possible options to make it a global benchmark among airports. We are confident of achieving it."

After the airport was handed over to MIAL in May, the company unveiled its master plan on October 3.

The master plan

The implementation of the master plan, company officials said, will be undertaken in two phases. The interim phase envisages implementation of several immediate measures, which would be completed by 2008. These measures include complete refurbishment of Terminal 2B to include new airline lounges, retail outlets and duty-free shopping, revamp of Terminal 1A with facilities such as check-in counters and boarding bridges, setting up of temporary cargo facilities and upgradation of the airside runway facilities such as rapid exit taxiways to increase runway capacity.

The next phase, which is scheduled for completion by 2010, involves creation of a new terminal building T2 at Sahar catering to both international and domestic passengers, construction of a dedicated link from the Western Express Highway to T2, enhancement of the airside facilities by shifting the Air Traffic Control tower and construction of a parallel taxiway and building of new cargo facilities. "We will create a unique destination which combines the latest in technology with the vibrancy and warmth that is distinctly Indian," says Mr G. V. Krishna Reddy, MIAL's chairman.

The company said during the master planning stage, MIAL had designed a parallel runway and identified all the constraints that would come in the way of this project, which included rehabilitation of slums, relocation of all Air-India and other facilities, buying large tracts of private land outside CSIA and the removal of a number of private buildings outside CSIA, which are obstructions in the funnel.

"Addressing such complex constraints cannot be time-bound. Therefore, while MIAL will continue to work on the parallel runway option, it will substantially upgrade the existing cross-runway operation to meet the demand growth," said a company official.

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