Mumbai, Jan 14: Commercial operations at the Navi Mumbai International Airport will commence by March 31, 2025, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Saturday.

He said 55-60 per cent of the work on the project has been completed.

Earlier, the minister held a review meeting of the project, which is coming up at an investment of Rs 18,000 crore. Speed Up Renaming Process of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai Airports: Uddhav to Centre.

"Commercial operationalisation of phase 1 and 2 of Navi Mumbai International Airport is expected by March 2025," the minister said at a media conference. On Friday, Scindia had said the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport will be operational from November and December this year.

"We did believe that December 2024 is the target we were pushing for. Internally it is still a target that we are pushing for," he said on Sunday.

"But there are two types of projections that you will receive -- one is the projection that is over-estimated that cant be met and the other projection is the realistic projection with a surprise in cache, if it is completed before time," he said.

"I believe more in the latter than the former, and therefore, I have kept that cushion of three months with a hope that we will push this forward a little bit," Scindia added.

Navi Mumbai Airport project, being developed by the Adani Group, is split into five phases and will have a total capacity of handling 9 crore passengers per annum.

The work on the second airport project in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region had started in 2018. The first two phases will have a capacity of handling 2 crore passengers per annum.

Once all the five phases are completed, the airport will have four terminals and two runways, he said. The second runway, four terminals, along with an increased passenger capacity of 9 crore, will be created in phases three, four, and five, he said.

The physical and financial progress has been completed up to 55-60 per cent, according to the minister. He also said there are multiple "pieces of puzzle" and multiple agencies involved.

"We are looking at the GatiShakti model with multi-model connectivity. We are looking at road, rail and metro connectivity. We are looking at automated passenger connectivity movement within the terminal. And, therefore, all pieces of the puzzle have to come together," he said.

There are also plans to have water connectivity, and the plan is to connect the upcoming airport through hover craft from Colaba and through cargo from Raigad in Phase 2, an official release stated. India Has Proved It Has the Capability to Lead Global Aviation Market, Says Jyotiraditya Scindia.

"The Navi Mumbai international Airport is not just an infrastructure project for Mumbai or Maharashtra, it is a project of pride for the entire nation," Scindia said.

A 100 per cent green airport is being created in the first phase, the release stated.

Scindia said he has told multiple agencies involved in the project to "ensure that all the dependencies are not in any way delayed in any manner so as to make sure that the critical part has no bottlenecks in its process as we go forward".

The government aims to double domestic passenger traffic in the country from the present 15 crore to 30 crore by 2030, the minister said.

Replying to a question on the project cost, Scindia said "at the end of the day, it's a very important project and whatever it takes. we will ensure that it is completed".

"Even if it goes to Rs 20,000 crore... so the issue is not the capex amount," he added.