Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that in the next few years, the passenger capacity at six metro airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai will reach 40 crore passengers.
Speaking about the importance of airport infrastructure, Scindia told business Line Said that the government has clearly recognized the importance of airport infrastructure, and therefore, expanding the capacity at existing airports or building secondary airports in disrupted cities is one of the top priorities of the ministry. Along with this, the ministry also plans to increase the capacity of feeder airports in regional India.
Both Delhi and Mumbai airports are capacity constrained, and hence, these cities will get new airports at Jewar and Navi Mumbai respectively and are likely to be operational by 2024. Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports were expanded to add more capacity. While Kolkata and Chennai are getting new terminals.
“So your metro airports will either grow organically on existing sites or add capacity at secondary airports, and that will help feeder airports grow. Scindia said, we are talking about 400 million passenger capacity in only six metros
He explained, “After the Jewar airport reaches its full capacity by 2026, Delhi will be able to handle 170 million passengers at full capacity in both. Similarly for Mumbai, which along with Navi Mumbai is at 60 million passenger capacity, this will increase to 80-85 million in the coming years. Bengaluru and Hyderabad have a capacity of 25-30 million which is around 90 million for both. With both Kolkata and Chennai getting new terminals, the capacity will increase by 30-40 per cent.
Scindia said the civil aviation ministry is looking to sell the remaining portion of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad airports over the next three years.
AAI holds 26 per cent each in the joint venture airports of Delhi and Mumbai and 13 per cent each in Hyderabad and Bangalore.
disinvestment plan
Asked about a timeline and the outline of the disinvestment plan, Scindia said it was a three-year plan which would be synchronized with the capex plan for AAI.
“The idea that when you look at the profits you get from some of your seeds sown years ago, those gains will have to be reinvested in new greenfields or brownfields and so the funding pattern will dictate the disinvestment process.”
Scindia had earlier said that the ministry was planning to raise around Rs 98,000 crore over the next four years to be deployed in the development of the airport. Of the total amount, Rs 25,000 crore will be from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Rs 22,000 crore for expansion of airports and construction of new terminals. The private sector could weigh in with an investment of around ₹67,000 crore in new airports.
Asked on the timeline, he said: “It has to be in sync with the capex plan of AAI. I have given you a target of ₹33,000 crore for AAI in the next three years.
Through AAI, the government plans to set up three new greenfield airports along with expansion of 42 brownfield airports, while the private sector will set up three new greenfield airports including Navi Mumbai, Mopa and Jewar and seven brownfield airports. will expand.
“We are investing with a capital expenditure of ₹28 crore and there are three airports for greenfield that we are setting up which will cost ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 crore. There are seven airports under the private sector where we are expecting capital expenditure of Rs 30,000 crore.
Published on
10 July 2022