The Hindu Business Line : Airports upgrade may require up to Rs 20,000 cr

The Government today said that it would not be unrealistic to say that the modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports could require capital investments of Rs 10,000-20,000 crore.

In a statement laid on the floor of the House, the Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, indicated that the increase in capital investment was on account of the expenditure to be incurred by Airports Authority of India for modernisation of air traffic control among items and expenditures which could be incurred by other public agencies such as Delhi Metro, National Highway Authority of India and BSES among others.

The statement points out that the amount is less than the investment incurred at other international airports with world-class standards. The statement adds that it is estimated that the capital investment of Rs 7,961 crore and Rs 6,131 crore will be required for the Delhi and Mumbai airports over a 20-year period.

Besides, nothing prevents the joint venture company (JVC), taking up the developments of the two airports, to incur more expenditure if it was warranted by the expected traffic growth.

The statement also clarifies that the management control of the two metro airports will remain in the hands of Indian nationals as the foreign direct investment allowed in the JVC has been pegged at 49 per cent.

The statement adds that while the management of these airports was to be improved by involving world-class airport operators in the JVC, the ownership of the assets would remain with the Government.

Besides, in case of another airport coming up in the two metros, the Government proposes to provide the right of first refusal to the existing airport operators in Delhi and Mumbai provided four conditions are met. These conditions include that the second airport will not be set up before the trigger point of traffic growth is met and that the approval process for the second airport may begin five years or even earlier before the traffic trigger point is likely to be met.

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