Ulwe waterfront node is closely situated within 500 ha of the Ulwe airport node,
which is located directly south of the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (see
Figure 5.4). The proposed airport is expected to facilitate the increased traffic and trade
expected when the SEZ becomes fully operational. Although the airport has been delayed
for over three years and has met with protests from activists who object to the destruction
of environmentally sensitive mangroves, the Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel
anticipates that the first phase will be completed by 2013 (“First Phase,” 2010). 133 Ulwe
airport is slated to cater to the gems and jewelry sector as a diamond hub comparable to
those in Antwerp and Dubai, as well as to house IT/ITES, conference, and trade facilities.
At the eastern tip of Navi Mumbai, the Kalamboli node comprises an area of 310
ha adjacent to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the Maharashtra Industrial
Development Corporation’s (MIDC) Taloja Industrial Estate (see Figure 5.5). The
promoters anticipate that proximity to the MP Expressway and the proposed expansion of
the Sion-Panvel highway will enable the node to function as a services and IT/ITES hub
for western India. Kalamboli is close to developed residential and commercial areas in
Navi Mumbai, including CBD Belapur, Panvel, and Kharghar that will provide social
infrastructure for the zone and provide an attractive residential area for workers in the IT
sector. In early 2010, CIDCO floated a bid to develop 100 ha of land at Kharghar,
bringing in Rs. 1,530 crore from Future City Properties Pvt. Ltd., of which 60% will be
133 The airport has become another site of controversy in regards to land acquisition, although CIDCO claimed in early 2010 that it had 70% of the land. In response to environmental activists, who have estimated that half of the funds required to build the airport will be used to divert two rivers and destroy 450 ha of mangroves, CIDCO has determined to replant the mangroves at an alternative site (Tembhekar, 2010).
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