Navi Mumbai, Oct 11: The Indian Air Force (IAF) C295 transport aircraft on Friday successfully conducted an inaugural landing at the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NIMA).

The C295 was traditionally welcomed by the cannon salute of the fire brigade and the Sukhoi 30 jets did a flypast over the southern runway of the airport.

The function was attended by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, DCM Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Muralidhar Mohol, CIDCO chairman Sanjay Shirsat, Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Barne and NCP MP Sunil Tatkare among others.

The Chief Minister said the two phases of the airport which handles 20 million passengers annually will be operational in March 2025 with the starting of domestic flights and thereafter international flight operations will be launched. He further stated that the airport will ease the traffic congestion at the Mumbai International Airport adding that the two airports will be connected through metro as well as roads.

CM Shinde said the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NIMA) will also handle 2.6 million tonnes of cargo annually. It will have two 3,700 m long parallel runways and four passenger terminals with a total terminal area of one million sq m. "It will be India’s greenest airport with the potential to generate 36 MW of solar and wind energy. With four different terminals interconnected with each other, the passengers will have the option of an internal travel route to go from one terminal to another. It is India’s first multi-modal aviation hub connected by expressway, highways, two metro rail corridors, high-speed rails and tower taxied," he added.

The Chief Minister said that with the commissioning of the Atal Setu sea link and the upcoming airport, the Navi Mumbai and the adjoining areas will be completely transformed with the opening of a slew of development opportunities.

He said that the airport has the capacity to park 350 aircraft at a time. Also, this airport has four different terminals, and, since they are interconnected the passengers will have the option of an internal travel route to go from one terminal to another,’’ said the CM.

According to CIDCO, which holds 26 per cent equity in the airport, the airport is spread across 1,160 hectares of land and located approximately 35 km from Mumbai Airport. The cost of NIMA is Rs 16,700 crore. In August, the Airport Authority of India completed Instrument Landing System (ILS) testing which calibrates the flight path to ensure the operational readiness of the airport. (IANS)

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