Modi inaugurates a second international airport for India's financial capital, Mumbai

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NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a new international airport in India's financial capital, Mumbai, on Wednesday, marking a step forward in expansion of the country’s fast-growing aviation network.

Navi Mumbai International Airport is expected to begin operating in December and will make Mumbai the only metropolitan area in the world's most populous country to have a second international airport. It aims to become a key passenger and cargo hub in Asia and to help ease congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, one of the country’s busiest.

The airport built by the Adani Group for an estimated $2.2 billion is the latest project underscoring India’s push to modernize infrastructure and strengthen air connectivity as its economy grows and air travels surge.

Over the past decade, the government has opened and upgraded dozens of airports to link smaller cities and improve cargo movement, aiming to make air travel a key driver of economic growth. The number of airports in the country has increased to 160 from 74 in 2014, official data show.

“It’s a reflection of a nation that is growing,” Modi said in a speech.

The airport will begin operations with one terminal and four are planned. Journalists covering the inauguration Wednesday did not have access to the facility.

India is the world’s third-largest air transport market in terms of departing passenger traffic, behind the U.S. and China, according to a report by the International Air Transport Association in June. Approximately 174 million passengers traveled from and within India by air in 2024, accounting for around 4.2% of the world total.

The Navi Mumbai airport will have a capacity of up to 20 million passengers annually and up to 90 million over the next few years, the Adani Group said in a statement.

It will be the first airport in India planned to be connected by water taxis in addition to high-speed rail, underground metro trains, roads and highway networks.