Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) is to design and masterplan the future Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) in the state of Maharashtra. The firm won an international design competition run by GVK, the private company that operates Chhatrapati Shivaji, the city’s present airport.
When fully built, NMIA will have an annual capacity of 60 million and will be connected to Mumbai by the planned Trans Harbour Link. The estimated construction cost of the project is cost $2.5bn.
ZHA’s contract involves the design of its terminal, its air traffic control tower and its landside access. Cristiano Ceccato, ZHA’s project director, said: "Our ambition is for the design to speak to India’s future, while celebrating its present and honouring its past."
India’s airlines currently operate 450 passenger planes, and have ordered 900 aircrafts for use in the future.
The airport will be built by a joint venture between GVK and the City and Industrial Development Corporation. Construction will be fast-tracked and the initial phase may be completed in 2020.
Image: The interior of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Wikimedia Commons/A Savin)
