Mumbai, Feb 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid foundation stone for the Navi Mumbai International Airport - a project which was first announced 21 years ago in 1997. The implementation cost has also jumped from Rs 3,000-crore to Rs-16,700 crore. While the airport's first phase would become operational by 2019, the project would be fully completed by 2031.

Navi Mumbai International Airport: Key facts to know

- The airport is being built over a sprawling area of 2,320 hectares, comprising parts of Ulwe, Kopar and Panvel.

- The GVK Group, which operates the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), was awarded the contract to execute the project in February 2017. GVK will hold 74 per cent of the stakes, whereas, the state-run City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will hold 13 per cent equity each.

- Rs 4,000 crore would be invested by GVK for the completion of first phase - the deadline for which is December 2019. A total of 10 million passengers are expected to travel daily using the Navi Mumbai airport after the completion of the project's phase-I.

- The base and runway for the phase-I of the airport would be situated in Ulwe. For aeronautical purpose, entire Ulwe Hills will be razed to the ground by early next year.

- The second phase of Navi Mumbai airport, Civil Aviation Ministry claims, is expected to be completed by 2022. The operation capacity would then be scaled up to 25 million passengers per day.

- The third phase is expected to be completed by 2027. By the conclusion of phase-4 in 2031, the airport will be able to sustain the commutation of 60 million passengers on daily basis.

- The new airport is expected to ease the congestion at CSIA, which is handling approximately 900 flights per day, with up to 40 million passengers.

- Unlike the CSIA, the Navi Mumbai airport will have two runways, parallel to each other. Each runway will measure 4,000 metres.

Reason behind the 21-year delay

- Although the project was first announced in 1997, it faced numerous roadblocks, which include political indecisiveness, issues of environmental clearances and lack of private funding under the PPP model.

Site of the proposed airport in Navi Mumbai's Ulwe

- The Stage-II clearances from the Ministry of Environment and Forests were restrained under the erstwhile governments as the project proposed destruction of entire Ulwe Hills, diversion of canals and rivers, filling swamps and slashing down the mangrove cover.

- A total of 10 villages in Navi Mumbai region were affected due to the airport project. Despite initial resistance, CIDCO - the nodal government agency involved in the project - persuaded the 3,500 affected households to accept the compensation being offered by the government.

- So far, however, only 400 of the 3,500 families have been rehabilitated. An additional Rs 520 crore is required to rehabilitate the remaining households. Under the compensation package, the family would be provided monetary aide, job for one family member at the airport, rent allowances and a house at Pushpak Nagar, the proposed residential colony near the airport.

Despite the delay, the Navi Mumbai airport would not only address the employment woes of the satellite city, but also boost the real estate sector in the megapolis. City-based activists, however, have raised caution over a potential increase in pollution level, along with congestion.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 18, 2018 03:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).