Mumabi: How many airports are typically justified for a metro in India. The most common answer would be two – ‘twin airports’ that would offload the traffic of the congested airport and make life easier for passengers as well as airport management. How about three airports? Wouldn’t it be nice if a city, as congested as Mumbai gets a third airport? Interestingly this is about to come true as India is all set to build its first offshore airport near Mumbai. This airport is a part of PM Narendra Modi’s vision to overhaul the city’s traffic and infrastructure.

As per a recent Bloomberg report, the location for the new airport is on an artificial island close to Vadhvan seaport along the west coast of India. There are two airports on man-made islands – the Hong Kong International airport and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport. Based on this information sources have revealed that the design of the new airport will be similar to the above two airports. This project is in the initial stages of development with approvals on the cards from federal environment, defence departments, along with the government of Maharashtra. In the next stage of development, the Airports Authority of India will conduct the feasibility studies and then an estimated investment amount will be revealed.

The new airport is a part of Prime Minister’s ambitious plan of expanding operations and connectivity from Mumbai. He had mentioned the start of construction of this airport during an election rally last year. It is also said that upon completion the Vadhvan seaport will be three times larger than India’s largest existing ports and its deepest. The nearby offshore airport, built on reclaimed land, will enhance connectivity and avoid delays often caused by land acquisition issues. However, the project has its own set of challenges, one of the major hurdles being justifying the passenger traffic in comparison to the investment.

To make the new airport viable, rapid transit options between this new project and Mumbai’s existing terminals along with the new Navi Mumbai airport will be essential. The project blueprint consists of oad and high-speed rail connectivity, with a proposed bullet train line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad making a stop near the Vadhvan airport. Two major inter-state highways—New Delhi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Vadodara—will also be connected to the airport