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Even as the site for the second airport in Mumbai remains caught in a tug-of-war between the Civil Aviation Ministry and Ministry of Forest and Environment, a report has called for a long-term strategy for the proposed second airport.
The Central and state governments must take a long-term, pragmatic view and 'plan big' to ensure a future capacity of at least a 100-million passengers at Mumbai's new airport, which is the norm for all major airports in the world, including the one at Delhi, said a report titled 'Second Airport: What Mumbai Must Learn from International Experience,' carried out by the Observer Research Foundation.
"The Central and State Governments must act quickly to commission the new airport, with capacities and facilities that place it among the best and the biggest in the world," it said.
Mumbai must regain the pioneering spirit of Bombay, and settle for nothing less than what an ambitious and long-term vision demands, the report said.
This is possible by harmonising the interests of development and the environment, the report said.
"With India poised to become a major economic power, our big cities have to think big and long-term. Unfortunately, the authorities in Mumbai are lacking in vision and the ability to think long-term," ORF chairman, Sudheendra Kulkarni, said.
The capacity of the proposed second airport is only 50-million passengers which is half of the major airports in the world including airports in Asia, Kulkarni said, adding, when the second airport reaches the saturation point, there will be no land left for the construction of a third airport.
The report emphasises that whatever the site, the new airport represents an opportunity for Mumbai and India to set up a highly-efficient infrastructure.
"Should the government make a wrong move now in the setting up of a new airport for Mumbai, it could very adversely affect the future of this great city for all time. It would be a failure of the human imagination," it concludes.