AAI to spend Rs 4,500 crore on non-metro airports

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), the agency responsible for civil aviation infrastructure, is likely to spend over Rs 4,500 crore on modernisation of non-metro airports this year, primarily to reduce load on busy metro airports.

“However, this spend if complemented by investment from the state governments and the public sector would speed up the process,” said Praveen Seth, member - operations, AAI.

He was speaking at Aerodrome India 2010 organised by PDA Trade Fairs in association with Airports International and the Society for Indian Aerospace Industries and Technologies (SIATI).

AAI is planning the city-side development of 24 airports across the country, including Amritsar and Ahmedabad. About 10 of these airports have been identified for the first phase, which will begin shortly.

“Besides, 11 new greenfield airports, which include sites such as Kannur (Kerala), Mopa (Goa) and Navi Mumbai have been identified to decrease passenger load on existing airports. Kolkata and Chennai are being taken up as mega projects for modernisation,” Seth said.

Noting that the airports selected for upgrade such as Goa, Jammu and Bhopal have a passenger share of 21 per cent, C G Krishnadas Nair, managing director, Cochin International Airport (CIAL), said: “The objective of decongestion of metro airports and development of hinterland can be met by extending air services and increasing direct connectivity between metros and non-metros.”

Nair stressed the need for strong branding of airports on the lines of CIAL and developing an aerotropolis for aero revenue generation. The problem of overcapacity also found mention with Nair cautioning airport operators to keep in mind modular expansion, while exploring tourism and export opportunities. CIAL is the first private airport in India and has established flying clubs, helipads and a training institute as airport-side development.

Ravi Radhakrishnan, GM-Business Development, Reliance Infrastructure, said a non-metro airport has traffic of less than three lakh passengers per annum and the longer break-even periods make it unattractive for private investors.

“I believe the way forward is close coordination with airlines, both scheduled and charter, along with airport industrial parks for Reliance Airport Developers (RADL’s ) five airports,” he said. RADL won the bid for airports in Maharashtra located at Yavatmal, Osmanabad, Latur, Nanded and Baramati. RADL won the bid for a 95-year lease for operating these properties.