Maharashtra is set to develop the country’s first planned offshore airport off the coast of Palghar district, near Vadhavan Port, with an estimated cost of ₹45,000 crore. Around ₹25,000 crore of this budget is expected to go toward land reclamation, while the remaining funds will cover the construction of airport infrastructure, including terminals, runways, and supporting facilities, according to a senior official.
The airport will be built entirely on a reclaimed island and is designed to handle 90 million passengers annually. A pre-feasibility study, commissioned last year by Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd, is nearing completion.
The facility will feature two parallel runways and is planned as a major air cargo hub, capable of handling 3 million metric tonnes per year, with direct integration to the all-weather, deep-draft Vadhavan Port.
Connectivity to the airport will include a direct link to the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, a metro connection to the Western Railway, and integration with the Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor. Plans also include a connection to the Uttan-Virar Sea Link, an eight-lane North-South corridor linking the Mumbai Metropolitan Region with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
The combined development of the seaport and offshore airport is part of the government’s strategy to enhance multi-modal connectivity—by sea, air, rail, and road—between India’s industrial regions and global markets, leveraging the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.
Vadhavan Port, a deep-draft facility along the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), is expected to boost India’s container handling capacity by 23.2 million TEUs, strengthening the country’s position among key global maritime hubs.
