The construction of the international airport at Navi Mumbai will be little delayed due to the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic, GVK Group Vice Chairman Sanjay Reddy said on Thursday.
He is also the Managing Director of Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL). The Rs 16,000-crore aerodrome is being built by a consortium led by GVK Power & Infrastructure.
A release issued by industry body CII quoted Reddy as saying that the construction and starting of Navi Mumbai airport, is expected to be a little delayed due to the current situation in the wake of the pandemic.
The airport would be using the most advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, he said.
Reddy was addressing a session on the future of travel amidst the COVID-19 situation, organised by the Young Indians (Yi) Mumbai Chapter of the CII, as per the release.
Every single business and organisation is currently reinventing themselves. The pandemic would also foster the use of modern technology, which in turn would bring in more efficiency in the system, he said.
"During the pre-vaccine period, airports are expected to adapt to various safety and hygiene practices. Also, it is expected that business travels will be reduced due to more utilisation of virtual platforms and travel cost-cutting in various organisations," Reddy was quoted as saying in the release.
The post-vaccine period is going to be totally different as people would be eager to travel, he added.
The GVK group is already a majority stakeholder in the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), which is running the Mumbai airport.
The second airport in the Mumbai region was expected to be open in December 2019 and the deadline was pushed to 2021. The passenger terminal building is being developed to initially have a capacity to handle 10 MPA (Million Passengers per Annum) and would be enhanced to 20 MPA.
The GVK group plans to spend Rs 8,500 crore in the first phase of the project.
The Navi Mumbai airport project is a public-private partnership venture in which MIAL holds 74 per cent stake with Maharashtra's CIDCO. The concession agreement for the new airport was signed between the NMIAL and CIDCO in January
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