August 14, 2023: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and airport operators are working on an over Rs 98,000 crore capital expenditure plan to build new and upgrade existing airports in India, the ministry of civil aviation said. Of this total amount, the AAI has set aside around Rs 25,000 crore for 2019-24 for development/upgrade/ modernisation of various existing airports and developing new airports to meet the growing demands, the ministry added.
“Expansion of airports including the upgradation of infrastructures/ facilities at airports is a continuous process, which is undertaken by the AAI and operators concerned, depending upon operational requirements, traffic, demand, commercial feasibility, etc.,” it said in a statement issued on August 11.
Development and upgrade of airports in India
According o the ministry statement, the AAI has undertaken development/expansion of the following airports:
- Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Vijayawada and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh
- Itanagar and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh
- Dibrugarh in Assam
- Darbhanga and Patna in Bihar
- Safdarjung in Delhi
- Goa in Goa
- Dholera, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara in Gujarat
- Leh in Ladakh
- Kalaburagi in Karnataka
- Calicut in Kerala
- Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur and Rewa in Madhya Pradesh
- Juhu, Kolhapur and Pune in Maharashtra
- Imphal in Manipur
- Bhubaneswar in Odisha
- Jodhpur in Rajasthan
- Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu
- Agartala in Tripura
- Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Muirpur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh
- Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Kolkata in West Bengal
“The upgrade endeavors encompass several enhancements, ranging from the construction of terminal buildings and ATC tower-cum-technical blocks to the expansion of civil enclave, extension, strengthening, and re-carpeting of runways, as well as the creation of aprons, parking bays, and other associated infrastructure improvements,” Minister of state for civil aviation VK Singh informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008
The government has formulated a Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008, for development of new airports in the country. Under the policy, if a developer including a state government, wants to develop an airport, they are required to identify a suitable site and get the pre-feasibility study conducted for construction of airport. They should then submit a proposal to the government for ‘site clearance’ followed by an ‘in-principle’ approval. So far, the government has accorded an ‘in-principle’ approval for setting up of 21 new airports in India. Out of these, 12 new airports have been operationalised.
To enhance regional air connectivity from unserved and underserved airports in the country, the ministry launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme, UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNagarik) in 2016, making air travel affordable to the masses, the minister added.
International airports in India
At present, there are 30 international airports in the country, the minister informed.
“The upgrade of airports to meet international standards specified by international organisations such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) etc., is undertaken by the AAI or the operators concerned, taking into account various considerations, including the commercial aspect, traveler requirements, land situation and airline preferences. Declaration of an airport as international airport depends upon traffic potential, demand from airlines for operation of international flights and bilateral Air Services Agreement. It also includes provision of ground lighting facilities, instrument landing system, runway length, immigration, health and animal & plant quarantine services, etc.,” he said.
