The stalled Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) project has finally started, solving the major challenges.

The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) aims to complete development work on the first phase of the airport by the end of 2024.

The project is being developed on 2,268 hectares of land, of which 1,160 hectares will have the actual airport. The projected cost of the project is Rs 16,700 crore.

Recently Adani Group took over the project. For years, the project faced problems with land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement due to opposition from the local population.

The Adani Group concessionaire has demanded the acquisition of the entire project land before starting the actual development.

Ten villages in the airport's core area had to be relocated, affecting 3,000 families. Nearly 22.5% of the developing country and other incentives were offered to the people affected by the project (PAPs). The project also had environmental issues and approvals from the central and state governments, and changes to the concessionaire required new approvals.

Vice President and General Manager of CIDCO, Sanjay Mukherjee, said: CIDCO and NMIAL acquired the project in 1997 and are now fully underway. CIDCO has completed land acquisition, rehabilitation and civil works pre-development. It is one of the most important steps towards the successful implementation of the project.

He added that NMIAL had obtained all approvals and financial close. CIDCO has handed over the site to NMIAL, which has started work on the airport in full swing.