Maharashtra Budget 2025: Ajit Pawar unveils plans for Mumbai’s third airport, bullet train station near Vadhvan Port

Maharashtra Budget 2025: Maharashtra Finance Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday, during the Maharashtra Budget 2025 speech, revealed plans to develop a third airport for Mumbai. This ambitious project will be located near the Vadhvan port in Palghar district, marking a major infrastructure boost for the state. The proposed airport is slated to become operational by 2030.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar further announced the proposal of a Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train station will be near Vadhvan port.

Vadhvan Port, a proposed deep seaport in Palghar district, will see the state contributing 26% of the total project cost, said Ajit Pawar while announcing plans for the third Mumbai airport as part of the port’s development.

Ajit Pawar also announced that the Shirdi airport will soon be equipped with ‘night landing facility’.

The decision to establish a new airport comes as a response to the increasing air traffic demands in Mumbai. The city’s existing airports, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), which is currently under construction, are expected to reach their capacity limits in the coming years.

Ajit Pawar further unveiled plans to build a metro that would link Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport with Navi Mumbai International Airport.

Ajit Pawar Delivers 11th Maharashtra Budget

Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar presented the State Budget for 2025-26 in the state assembly today, 10 March.

This made Ajit Pawar the Finance Minister to present the highest number of budgets (11) after Sheshrao Wankhede, who presented the budget 13 times. Ajit Pawar will hold the second-highest record with 11 times, followed by Jayant Patil (10 times) and Sushilkumar Shinde (9 times), the press release further mentioned.