Mumbai: As part of its grand plans to revamp Terminal 1 of the Mumbai airport, the Adani Airports-led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) is preparing to demolish the defunct Terminal 1A building of the airport.
The MIAL on Wednesday published a demolition notice for the Terminal 1A building along with the defunct chiller plant and temporary shed. According to the notice, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), under whose jurisdiction the land falls, has given its No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the demolition through a letter in September.
Separately, the MIAL has invited Expressions of Interest for the refurbishment of Terminal 1 of the airport.
An official associated with the project who did not wish to be named said, “We will not demolish the existing Terminal 1 till the second phase of the Navi Mumbai airport is completed to ensure there is no disruption to air traffic, but when we do, we would want some sort of back up at Mumbai airport to take some of the load. That’s why we are taking steps towards demolishing the defunct Terminal 1A now.”
An Adani Airports spokesperson did not respond to ThePrint’s call for comment. This report will be updated if a response is received.
Terminal 1A was shut down in 2016. Terminal 1B was renamed as ‘Terminal 1’ in 2017 to avoid confusion among passengers.
Plans for the refurbishment of Terminal 1
Adani Airports had in January announced its intention to redevelop Terminal 1 of the Mumbai airport and boost its capacity by 42 percent to be able to handle 20 million passengers annually.
For this, it had said that it would demolish Terminal 1 in a phased manner, starting November this year.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), which was inaugurated last month and is scheduled to start operations in December, is expected to stem the capacity shortfall while Terminal 1 is shut for refurbishment.
The Terminal 1 will be demolished only after the second phase of the Navi Mumbai Airport is completed in 2029. By then, the Terminal 1A building will have been refurbished to cater to some of the shortfall.
In its first phase, the construction of which has been completed, the Navi Mumbai airport is expected to have a passenger capacity of 20 million per annum and a cargo capacity of 0.8 million metric tonnes.
The next terminal is expected to be ready by 2029, the third by 2032, and the last by 2035-36.
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) had in March said the demolition of Mumbai airport’s Terminal 1 is necessary for public safety, following an IIT Bombay audit that had found corrosion, seepage and cracks in the structure.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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