Kolkata, Chennai facelift to cost Rs 5,000 cr
Aviation secretary rules out speculations about GMR being in fray to develop Kolkata airport.
By INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK |
NEW DELHI: The modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports would cost approximately Rs 4,000 crore to 5,000 crore. Ajay Prasad, secretary ministry of civil aviation, talking to ET Online said that since modernisation of Delhi airport would cost approximately Rs 8,000-9,000 crore, at least half of that would be spent on the Kolkata and Chennai airports. The secretary specified that the first phase spending for Delhi airport was pegged at Rs 2,800 crore.
Ruling out all speculations about GMR Infrastructure being in the fray to develop the greenfield airport at Kolkata and modernise the existing airport, Mr Prasad said that nothing had been decided as yet and the modalities would be decided in consultation with the state governments.
The secretary said that some infrastructure companies may have approached the West Bengal government or vice-versa, but a decision to this effect would be taken soon considering a gamut of factors.
In the meantime, Mr Prasad said that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is going ahead with the basic groundwork on the runway, parking, size of the terminal, collection of data and other requirements.
In case of 35 non-metro airports, modernisation will be done by AAI. But there would be private participation in airports where land can be used for commercial purpose.
The proposal for modernising the two airports got an ‘in-principle' nod from the Prime Minister's Infrastructure Committee in August last year. The Centre's intention to proceed with the modernisation of these airports was again spelt out in the Economic Survey 2005-06 that said an in-principle decision had been taken to modernise Chennai airport through the joint venture route.
Ruling out all speculations about GMR Infrastructure being in the fray to develop the greenfield airport at Kolkata and modernise the existing airport, Mr Prasad said that nothing had been decided as yet and the modalities would be decided in consultation with the state governments.
The secretary said that some infrastructure companies may have approached the West Bengal government or vice-versa, but a decision to this effect would be taken soon considering a gamut of factors.
In the meantime, Mr Prasad said that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is going ahead with the basic groundwork on the runway, parking, size of the terminal, collection of data and other requirements.
In case of 35 non-metro airports, modernisation will be done by AAI. But there would be private participation in airports where land can be used for commercial purpose.
The proposal for modernising the two airports got an ‘in-principle' nod from the Prime Minister's Infrastructure Committee in August last year. The Centre's intention to proceed with the modernisation of these airports was again spelt out in the Economic Survey 2005-06 that said an in-principle decision had been taken to modernise Chennai airport through the joint venture route.
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