Underground tunnel to run between airport’s T1 and T2

To facilitate easy transportation of passengers, luggage and cargo, the Mumbai Airport Authority is planning to build an underground tunnel between Terminal 2 (international airport) and Terminal 1 (domestic airport).

For the same, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) has also approved an approximate expense of Rs 365 crore proposed by the airport. This was revealed in a report, ‘The Determination of Aeronautical Tariffs on Mumbai Airport’, by the AERA.

According to Mumbai airport sources, the plan to construct the tunnel was conceived in 2014 and the same was approved this year following the inauguration of the state-of-the-art Terminal 2.

In 2014, infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro, which built Terminal 2, had conducted a feasibility study for such a tunnel.

The Mumbai airport authority plans to construct the tunnel under the runway 14/32 at the city airport to reduce the distance between the domestic and international terminals. According to sources, the proposed tunnel will have 100-metre ramps at both the ends of the runway.

An official close to the development said the aim is to reduce congestion on the perimeter road and apron, by airside vehicle moment. However, an aviation expert questioned that with most of the domestic operations shifted to Terminal 2, what is the relevance of the tunnel.

The report also informed that Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) had proposed the construction of a wall and a steel gate on Mithi River. The proposal was accepted by the AERA. The total cost to construct the wall and the gate is estimated to be around Rs 28 crore. Social activists have said that Mithi River’s proximity to the international airport is considered to be a security hazard. Recently, a non-governmental organisation had written to home minister Rajnath Singh to inform him that any one can make an intrusion into the terminal via the river.