Mumbai, (The Hindu): Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the foundation plaque at the ground breaking ceremony for Navi Mumbai International airport in Mumbai on Sunday. He also inaugurated the fourth container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

“A day before the Jayanti of the great Shivaji Maharaj, I got the opportunity to come to Maharashtra. Globalisation is a reality of our times and to keep pace with it, we need top quality infrastructure. The Sagarmala project is ushering development of ports. The government is devoting significant efforts towards the development of waterways,” Mr. Modi said.

"Issue of Navi Mumbai airport has been pending for years. This is not the only project that is pending. When I assumed office, I realised there were several such projects. That is why, we began a Pragati initiative and gave priority to completion of projects."

"In our country, nearly 450 planes are operational. 900 new planes will be bought this year. Aviation sector is moving ahead," he said.

The JNPT's fourth container terminal's phase I has been completed in a record time at a cost of 4,719 crore.

Alok Deshpande reports:

On January 8, 2018, GVK Power and Infrastructure Limited (GVKPIL) had announced the signing of the concession agreement for this airport project. The agreement was signed through the creation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV), i.e. Navi Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (NMIAL) with CIDCO, which is the nodal authority of Maharashtra government for implementation of this project.

GVKPIL through its subsidiary, Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) holds 74% equity shares of NMIAL while CIDCO holds the rest 26%. The initial concession period is 30 years from the appointed date which is extendable for further 10 years. MIAL was declared the successful bidder in February 2017, for the project and had received the Letter of Award from CIDCO on October 25, 2017.

"Projects worth 10 lakh crores were stuck when I took over the office. Previous government did only three things to infrastructure projects. They stalled it, kept it pending and then grounded it," Mr. Modi said.