Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports undertaking Rs.30,000cr expansion, says Gen. Dr Singh
Investors have planned Rs.36,000 crores development of new Greenfield airports across the country under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, Minister of State in the Ministry Of Civil Aviation Gen. (Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd) said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 14 Mar 2022.
Further, PPP investors are undertaking major expansion projects of around Rs.30,000 crores at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports for completion by 2025, he added.
Additionally, the Government has taken several steps to meet the increasing demand in aviation sector, some of which include the following:
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up development of new and existing airports with a projected capital expenditure of around Rs.25,000 crores in next five years. This includes construction of new terminals, expansion and modification of existing terminals, expansion and/ or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services (ANS) infrastructure, control towers and technical blocks etc.
The Government has accorded ‘in-principle’ approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country. So far, eight Greenfield airports have been operationalised. These are Sindhudurg and Shirdi in Maharashtra, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala, Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, Kalaburagi in Karnataka and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh.
Under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – Ude Deshka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), 405 routes connecting 65 airports (including 8 heliports and 2 water aerodromes) have been operationalised as on 8 March 2022.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate has been reduced from 18% to 5% for domestic Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services.
A conducive aircraft leasing and financing environment has been enabled.
The domestic capacity of the airlines has been restored to full, as in during pre-Covid times.
Improvement in air navigation infrastructure at Indian airports is being carried out.
The number of freighter aircraft deployed by Indian carriers has been increased from 7 in 2018 to 28 in 2021. As a result, the share of Indian carriers in international freighter movements has increased from 2% to 19% over last two years, he said in an update to the house. fiinews.com
