Indian Airports Poised For Big-Ticket Investments

Big ticket projects in airports across the country are in the pipeline as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up developmental projects worth about Rs 25,000 crore over the next five years for various works including expansion and modification of existing terminals, new terminals, expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, air navigation services, control towers and technical blocks.

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, there are several developmental projects being undertaken for the development of civil aviation in India out of which about Rs 36,000 crore is to be invested in the development of new Greenfield Airports across the country under PPP mode.

Besides, three Public Private Partnership (PPP) airports at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have undertaken developmental projects to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore by 2025.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the government said under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Scheme, as on November, 2021, as many as 393 routes have commenced connecting 62 unserved and underserved airports, including two water aerodromes and six heliports.

Government of India has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country. So far, eight greenfield airports namely, Shirdi in Maharashtra, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala, Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh have been operationalised.

Development of infrastructure projects is an ongoing process. The timeline for completion of an airport development project depends upon many factors, such as land acquisition by the concerned State Government, receipt of mandatory clearances from various government entities and regulatory authorities, changes in traffic volumes, financial closure by the airport developer and disruptions due to man-made or natural causes.

Most of the above-mentioned developmental projects are likely to be completed over the next five years.