City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (Cidco) is working on a rigorous schedule to get the tender for the much delayed Navi Mumbai Airport out by April-May.

“The work (on the tender) is on but it's a complex project and lot of issues need to be sorted out. We are hoping the tender should be ready in the next three-four months from now,” a source in Cidco told Business Line .

Green nod

Though the project received “green” nod from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in November last year, Cidco – the lead developer of the estimated Rs 10,000-crore project – needs permission from the Bombay High Court to clear the mangroves from the project site.

Cidco had earlier said it expects to get the remaining environment-related clearances by February 2011.

Replanting mangroves

According to the compromise reached with the MoEF, Cidco would undertake replanting of mangroves on over 678 hectares against the existing mangroves in 161 hectares that would be destroyed by the proposed project. The new mangroves will come up at a site 35 km from the existing airport.

Apart from cutting of mangroves, the project would also require levelling of a 90-metre hillock and diversion of one of the two rivers that fall in the project vicinity.

As part of the compromise, the distance between the two runways has been reduced to 1.55 km as against the earlier 1.8 km. This would not lead to any diversion of the river Gadhi. However, the course of the Ulwe, a tidally influenced water body, has to be changed.

Meanwhile, terms and conditions for partnership with Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the project are yet to be finalised, the source said.

After the project received clearance in November, AAI said it was willing to lend a helping hand to the project. However, officials in Cidco had said that the stake to be given to the airports operator would be based on commercial considerations and not on a discounted price.

“The details of the partnership with AAI will be finalised in due course. Nothing has moved on the issue so far,” said the source.

comment COMMENT NOW