Navi Mumbai airport gears up for june launch

Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, strolled the dusty expanse of the Navi Mumbai International Airport site on 16 March 2025, eyeing a June opening. This sprawling hub—touted as world-class—promises to handle 90 million passengers yearly once fully built, easing the chokehold on Mumbai’s creaking airports. With family and execs like Jeet Adani and Arun Bansal in tow, he called it “a gift to India,” a line that’s got X buzzing with pride and a few raised eyebrows.

The numbers are dizzying—300,000 jobs could bloom, from baggage handlers to tech crews, stitching Navi Mumbai tighter into India’s economic fabric. The airport’s twin runways, stretching 3,700 metres each, are nearly set after a December IndiGo test flight nailed the landing. It’s not just about flights; logistics firms are licking their chops—0.8 million tonnes of cargo capacity kicks off phase one. Picture trucks humming along the new Ulwe Coastal Road, linking this beast to Mumbai’s Trans Harbour Link.

Stakeholders are all in. Maharashtra’s chief minister Eknath Shinde, who watched an IAF C-295 touch down last October, sees it as a growth engine. Adani’s team—backed by a ₹12,770 crore State Bank loan—says 57% of the work was done by late 2023; now it’s a sprint to June. Locals chatter about shorter commutes and bigger paychecks, but some wonder—can it really decongest Mumbai’s skies, or will it just shift the jam? The countdown’s on, and the stakes are sky-high.