MADC Invites Bids for Feasibility Study of India's First Offshore Airport at Vadhavan, Palghar
The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has issued a Notice Inviting Tender to appoint a consultant for a detailed techno-economic feasibility study of a proposed offshore international airport near Kore in the Vadhavan Port region of Palghar district. The facility is being planned as India's first greenfield offshore airport, to be developed through a Public-Private Partnership model.
MADC said the project is intended to meet long-term aviation demand in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as passenger traffic continues to rise, and to expand airport capacity over the coming decades while leveraging Vadhavan Port's location to integrate air, sea, rail and road connectivity. The airport is planned to eventually handle about 90 million passengers annually.
The facility is proposed to be built to ICAO Aerodrome Code 4F standards, with precision approach capability starting under CAT II with provision to upgrade to CAT III. Planned infrastructure includes a parallel runway system, full-length parallel taxiways, modern terminals, cargo facilities and integrated city-side development.
MADC has already completed a pre-feasibility study that identified Kore Beach as the most suitable site, and an Obstacle Limitation Surface survey has been conducted. The Maharashtra government has approved the identified site. The selected consultant under the new tender will carry out detailed technical, financial and environmental studies as the project moves toward formal approval and construction.
The airport would become the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's third major aviation facility, after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, and is being developed alongside the Vadhavan Port project.