Agra, Ajmer may get airports as states queue up for air power

NEW DELHI: Setting up greenfield airports seems to be the flavour of the season. The union civil aviation ministry has received proposals to construct over 15 greenfield airports from various states.

Currently, two greenfield airports —at Hyderabad and Bangalore — are under construction, while the work on the Navi Mumbai project is expected to start soon. The government now plans to construct greenfield airports in other cities too, sources said.

The ministry has already given in-principle approval to some of these projects including Mopa in Goa and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra. Among the proposals are a greenfield airport at Agra and Ajmer.

“Agra and Ajmer are two important tourist destinations which have remained unconnected by air. The government will construct greenfield airports in these two cities as well as in cities which are important from tourism point of view,” a civil aviation ministry official said.

These airports are expected to be built with private participation. Government is also finalising the modalities of modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai international airports. While Airport Authority of India (AAI) is expected to develop the Kolkata airport, modernisation of Chennai airport is likely to be done with involvement of private companies, along the lines of modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai international airports.

Impressed by the double digit growth in the civil aviation sector, various state governments want greenfield airports. The proposals received by civil aviation ministry from 11 states include – Bijapur, Gulbarga, Shimoga and Hassan (Karnataka), Karaikal (Pondicherry), Ajmer , Agra , Mopa (Goa), Passighat, (Arunachal Pradesh), Pakyong (Arunachal Pradesh), Cheitu (Nagaland), Asansol (West Bengal), Kannur (Kerala), Cuddapah and Warangal (Andhra Pradesh). “We shall analyse these proposals on a case-by-case basis before approving these projects,” a civil aviation ministry official said.