India’s leading private sector airport operator GVK, which currently operates the airports in Mumbai and Bengaluru, has emerged as the best bidder to develop the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). Informed sources said in the nodal agency CIDCO said that GVK, which currently operates India’s first brownfield and greenfield airports -Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Mumbai and Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru respectively under the PPP model, had pipped GMR Airports limited to the post in the final bids opened on Monday.
GMR Delhi had offered 10.44 percentage of revenue share while Mumbai International Airport limited (GVK) had offered 12.60 per cent share of the annual gross revenue of the project. “It is a matter of immense pride for MIAl and GVK to have won the bid for building, developing and operating the Greenfield Navi Mumbai International Airport project. This is further testimony to our commitment that was ably- demonstrated in the making of the iconic Terminal 2, along with the creation of efficient airside operations in a severely constrained Mumbai airport,” said Dr GVK Reddy, Executive Chairman of Mumbai International Airport ltd (MIAl) and founder Chairman & MD of GVK.
“We shall remain committed towards creating, designing and managing yet another state-of-the-art airport, and deliver a world class gateway from Navi Mumbai to the world. We look forward to working with the State Government, CIDCO and all other stakeholders for the successful implementation of this exciting and challenging project,” Reddy said. The Rs16,000-crore NMIA - located in adjoining Raigad district - is not only expected to change the face of Navi Mumbai, but it will also support the rapidly growing air travel needs of the people in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, where there is already busy Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
To be located in an area of 1140 hectares, the proposed airport will accommodate two parallel runways for independent parallel operation with provision of full length taxi ways on either side of the runways. At the RFQ Stage, GMR, MIAl (GVK), Tata Realty-MIA Infrastructure and Zurich Airport-Hiranandani Group had been qualified for participating in the financial bidding process of Navi Mumbai International Airport. Out of which two companies i.e. GMR & MIAl (GVK) had submitted their financial bids on Monday.
“Evaluation Committee will prepare a report on qualified bids which will be sent to PMIC and then to State Cabinet for its approval. State Cabinet will take final decision about selection of the bidder, A CIDCO spokesperson said.” The NMIA is expected to absorb annually 10 million passengers in its first operational year, doubling to 20 million by 2020 followed by 30 million passengers in 2025 and ultimately 40 million by 2030.
The importance of NMIA should be realised from the fact that the Mumbai airport currently handles 26 million passengers annually and the traffic flow has now increased to 45 million passengers and the figure will go up to 119 million by 2031-32.