AAI to spend Rs 25k cr in next 5 years for expansion of airport terminals

'In-principle' approval is given for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country, says govt

Airports Authority of India (AAI), the government body charged with overseeing civil aviation infrastructure, plans to spend about Rs 25,000 crore in the next five years to expand and modify existing terminals, said government in Parliament.

The spending is part of several measures being undertaken by the Centre to revive civil aviation in India in the wake of severe disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, said MoS for Civil Aviation V K Singh, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Other measures being carried out include the major expansion of three public-private partnership (PPP) airports in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru for Rs 30,000 crore by 2025. 

Also, an investment of Rs 36,000 crore has been planned to develop new greenfield airports across the country under PPP mode. In August this year, the Centre gave its 'in-principle' approval for setting up 21 greenfield airports. 

The aviation sector in India suffered severe financial strain due to lockdowns and restrictions issued to curb Covid. The estimated losses incurred by airlines and airports in India in the financial year 2020-21 is about Rs19,564 crore and Rs. 5,116 crore respectively.

Due to Covid, domestic operations were suspended from March 2020 and were subsequently resumed in a calibrated manner only from May 2020 at 33 per cent of the capacity. The capacity restrictions were relaxed in October 2021.

"Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up a development programme to spend around INR 25,000 crores in next five years for expansion and modification of existing terminals, new terminals, expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services (ANS), control towers, technical blocks etc," said Ministry of Civil Aviation in a statement.