Airports upgrade gets wide berth
The government is working on a mid-term strategy for upgrading all metro airports to handle wide-bodied aircraft like 555-seater new generation Airbus-380.
By Rajeev Jayaswal, TNN |
NEW DELHI: The government is working on a mid-term strategy for upgrading all metro airports to handle wide-bodied aircraft like 555-seater new generation Airbus-380. While international airports will be modernised to operate aircraft like 400-seater Boeing-747, operational domestic airports will be upgraded for handling 199-seater Airbus-321 aircraft.
The five-year airport infrastructure development plan includes preparing these airports for take-off and lending facilities in all weather conditions with night-lending facilities, government sources said.
Stating that the government is considering a comprehensive strategy for upgradation of existing airports in the 11th Five-Year Plan, a senior government official said, “All developments will depend on availability of land and terrain conditions.”
“Funds will not be a constraint,” he added. It is estimated that upgradation and modernisation of airports will require over Rs 40,000 crore. It is proposed that Airport Authority of India (AAI) should create wholly-owned subsidiaries for selected airports (larger ones) for development and operations.
It is understood that the subsidiaries would be created to raise funds for modernisation of airports and in case of need, public-private participation route could be explored.
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While modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports are in progress, “modalities in respect of overall development strategy for Chennai and Kolkata airports are being worked out”, a civil aviation ministry official said. Sources in ministry said that greenfield airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad will be ready by April 2008.The government has also identified 35 non-metro airports for modernisation. “Techno-economic feasibility study (TEFS) for 25 airports has been prepared. Action for remaining 10 airports is in hand,” he said.
Upgradation of airports is necessary in light of air traffic forecasts. It is expected that Indian airports would have to handle 54 million international passengers in 2011-12 from existing traffic of 26 million international passengers. Similarly, in the domestic segment, passenger number is expected to rise from 61 million in 2006-07 to 151 million in 2011-12, sources said.
Cargo traffic is also expected to increase phenomenally. International cargo, which is expected to be around 10,29,000 tonnes in 2006-07 is expected to jump to 18,23,000 tonnes. Domestic cargo movement is projected at 8,61,000 tonnes in 2011-12 from the expected figure of 5,32,000 tonnes in 2006-07.
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