NEW DELHI: The government plans to revise the regulatory framework for airports as well as look at having multiple aerodromes in metros as part of long-term efforts to boost capacity amid rising passenger numbers.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha today said the main challenges are airport and airspace capacities. An appropriate framework for the next 15 to 20 years would be worked out under NABH (NextGen Airports for Bharat) Nirman, Sinha said, adding that capacity needs to be built ahead of demand. Revising regulatory framework for airports, strengthening of Airports Authority of India (AAI), forging partnerships with states, having multiple airports in metros and boosting air navigation system to manage crowded airspace would be the key aspects under the initiative, he said.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) has been issued for a detailed study to understand the demand and capital requirements for NABH Nirman. "We have done a lot of preliminary work. We want to have a detailed study city by city... that will give us demand forecast, traffic forecast city by city for major airports, financing requirements," Sinha told reporters here.
According to him, there is a need to have very high quality digital airspace management to accommodate the diversity of flying equipment as well. "We are going to see a situation where we continue to grow 12 to 15 per cent in volume terms," he added. India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. The minister noted that there are commercially viable airports as well as non-viable ones.
Financing options would be looked at for viable and non-viable airports under the initiative, he added. In his budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said, "We propose to expand our airport capacity more than five times to handle a billion trips a year under a new initiative - NABH (NextGen Airports for Bharat) Nirman.
Balance sheet of AAI shall be leveraged to raise more resources for funding this expansion". About funding sources, AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said various options, including bank financing, masala bonds and external commercial borrowing would be looked at. In the next financial year, he said terminal buildings projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore would be started. To a query, Sinha said various aspects related to seaplanes are being studied.