Major hurdles for airport cleared

CIDCO CLAIMS Rs3,000-crore airport pre-development bids opened, planning agency says work to begin by August

CBD BELAPUR: Even as the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) has called for bids from three shortlisted companies for the construction of Navi Mumbai international airport, it opened bids on Monday for pre-development works for the project.

The bids are worth Rs3,000 crore. Cidco said the project is on track and the first phase will be completed in December 2019.

According to Cidco j oint managing director V Radha, “We are happy to say that the most important clearance for the airport project has been done. The pre-development works will begin soon.”

She added, “We have succeeded in the crucial land acquisition process which involved discussion with 20,000 people and ensured that their interest has been protected. The environmental permissions too have all come. There is one permission that we are expecting to come through in two weeks.”

Giving details of the predevelopment works, Radha said, “The works have to be completed before the actual construction of the airport can be taken up. There are four packages of height land development, increase in height and level- ling of land in the core airport area. This will cost Rs1600 crore. There is a Rs- 100 crore river diversion project and Rs1,500 crore shifting of Extra High Voltage Transmission (EHVT) lines of Tata Power.”

She said, “The bids for the works had been on for eight months as it involves compli- cated works. It will now go to Cidco board for sanction and then awarding of work will be done.”

She said that the selected bidders would be given time for mobilisation which will happen during monsoon. “We expect the work to begin by August,” she said, adding that the land development work is the most important work which has been set in motion.

CIDCO SAID PROJECT IS ON TRACK AND THE FIRST PHASE WILL BE COMPLETED IN 2019