Navi Mum airport test tomorrow; CM: Sukhois will take off

Navi Mumbai: IAF aircraft will take off from Navi Mumbai International Airport on Friday as part of a crucial runway test before its expected March 2025 opening, Cidco chairman Sanjay Shirsat has said. CM Eknath said at a separate virtual address for a Nagpur event that Sukhoi fighter jets will take off from the airport "in the next two to three days".
The trial run will be conducted between 3pm and 4pm on Friday in the presence of Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. It had been initially scheduled for Oct 5 but was cancelled later.
The CM will also perform the bhumipujan of the proposed Maharashtra Bhavan near Vashi station and inaugurate a full-fledged golf course at Kharghar on that day.
Political observers suggested that with the assembly elections looming and the model code of conduct expected to be enforced this week, the state govt is in a hurry to kick off new projects and open completed ones.
Cidco said the airport, developed by Adani Airports in collaboration with the planning authority under a public-private partnership model, is set to commence domestic operations by March 2025 and international flights by June 2025. It will feature four terminals, two parallel runways and parking space for 350 flights, catering to 90 million passengers annually once operational. "It will help reduce the burden on Mumbai's current airport," Shirsat said. The project was pegged at Rs 16,700 crore.
The proposed Maharashtra Bhavan, pending for years despite the availability of space in the commercial hub, is pegged at Rs 121 crore on land measuring 8,000sqm. Belapur MLA Manda Mhatre had been following up with govt to help materialise the project, as most states have their own Bhavans at Vashi. Cidco has completed the work on expansion of the nine-hole golf course in Kharghar to an 18-hole international standard facility, which will be thrown open to the public.
(With agency inputs)