Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai, Maharashtra (formerly Sahar International Airport) is spread over an area of 7.6km² (India's largest airport) and is located inside the city, towards the north with convenient access to the rest of the city by road and the local rail network. The airport currently handles 20 million passengers a year, 400,000t of cargo and has 180,000 aircraft movements.

India is currently upgrading the majority of its major airports to satisfy international standards and provide world-class airports for business and the tourist industry. As far back as 1996 the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had been considering the modernisation of CSIA as it is an important hub for the major industrialised states of Maharashtra and Gujarat and also for Indian domestic traffic.

In 2003 the AAI approved a $7.6bn modernisation plan for the airports at Delhi and Mumbai and the government decided that the airports should be modernised and operated under a joint venture lease arrangement between the AAI and private consortia, who would provide the majority up to 74% of the funding in return for an operating concession for 30 years under a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) arrangement.

The bidding process began in May 2004 and after some political machinations that cause delays the winning consortium was chosen in January 2006 and was GVK, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and Bidvest.

The GVK consortium set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in March 2006 called MIAL (Mumbai International Airports Limited) to carry out the upgrade project.

WHAT IS INVOLVED

The modernisation project at Mumbai will involve several aspects but the main goals are to produce an airport that can handle a passenger volume of 40 million a year by 2010–2012 and also cargo traffic of over one million tons a year. Specific construction projects will include:

• A new common integrated terminal for domestic and international passengers and refurbishment of the older domestic terminal
• Upgrade and development of the runway system with new taxiways and also rapid exit taxiways
• New access infrastructure for terminals on the city side of the airport
• A new integrated cargo complex equipped to cater for all kinds of goods including perishables

CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI FINANCE

MIAL (GVK 37%, Bidvest 27% and ACSA 10% – Clifford Chance legal adviser) announced an investment of $1.26bn for the project in October 2006 (consortium members contributed $242m to the project).

The debt for the project amounts to $1.016bn and is being provided by the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDFC) and UTI Bank over a period of 24 years.

ABN Amro was financial adviser to the government and Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co (AMSS) provided legal services.

AIRPORT MASTERPLAN

The master plan, which was developed by Netherlands Airports Consultants BV (NACO) was unveiled in October 2006 (also reviewed by Changi Airport of Singapore who will also advise on operations and management). There are two main stages.

The interim stage will be completed by the end of 2008 and will include the commencement of refurbishment and construction at terminal 2, refurbishment of terminal 1A to upgrade and expand facilities such as check-in counters and boarding bridges, set up temporary cargo facilities to add capacity, upgrade of the airside runway facilities such as rapid exit taxiways to increase runway capacity and the enhancement of city side facilities such as multi-level car parks.

The second phase which will be completed by 2010 and includes: construction of a brand new (T2) terminal building for both international and domestic passengers, a dedicated link from the Western Express Highway to T2 at Sahar, enhancement of the airside facilities by moving the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and the construction of a parallel taxiway, development of infrastructure on the city side, construction of new permanent cargo facilities and the building of new domestic terminal 1-C.

The project will see 106 new stands for aircraft (67 in contact and 39 remote). There will also be 51 new boarding bridges (currently there are only 18), 316 check-in counters and parking space for 12,000 (up from the current 3,600) cars.

RUNWAYS

Mumbai airport is equipped with two crossing runways which are called 09/27 and 14/32. Runway 14/32, (2,925m, 9,596ft) is the one that runs between terminals 1 and 2. The main runway 09/27 (3,445m, 11,302ft) intersects 14/32 just south of the terminal buildings.

MIAL has incorporated a parallel runway as part of the master plan but there are obstructions to this part of the plan including land acquisition and rehabilitation of slums as well as relocation of a number of airport facilities. The parallel runway remains an active part of the plan but meantime the cross runways are being upgraded as much as possible.

NEW TERMINAL CONSTRUCTION

The airport currently has two terminals, domestic terminal 1 (1-A and 1-B) and also international terminal 2 (2-A, 2-B and 2-C). The new project construction contract for the new terminal 2 was awarded to Larsen & Toubro and the design is by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM).