Reliance Industries Limited chief Mukesh Ambani wants to build an airport in Raigad district. Ambani already has private jets including Airbus 319, is developing the MahaMumbai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the district and has identified a site in Uran for the airport. However details of the project are not known, but an official of the Navi Mumbai SEZ Private Limited, a Reliance Group company, confirmed the development and said the company was examining the feasibility of an airport. Further not elaborating much he said that looking for an airport is one of the possibilities and it is in a preliminary stage. According to sources the proposed Ambani airport could be for private use. The project has yet get an environmental clearance but the Center has already given its go-ahead for the Navi Mumbai airport to be developed by the City and Industrial Development Corporation.
Moreover the Ambanis owns several planes and helicopters. These planes are parked at the Mumbai airport but the Ambani’s find it congested and has little additional space. A team of officers of the Airports Authority of India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation inspected the site at Uran. The AAI’s no-objection clearance is required from the point of view of air traffic management, and the purpose of the inspection was to examine the feasibility of an airport and aspects such as the required runway length and alignment, air traffic procedures, obstructions in approach path etc.
According to government sources, the site in Uran is a marshland and is being reclaimed. However, there are some problems with the site, they said, adding a railway line passes close by. Airbus A-320 requires a minimum of 6500-7000 feet of runway. Because of the hills the safe touchdown point will have to be provided much further from the tip of the runway. Thus even a runway with 7000 feet won’t be sufficient for landing of an A-320.These factors can lead to restrictions on the take-off load. However, the AAI is still to give its final report on the feasibility of the Uran site
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