Night landing at all airports this yr: Patel

New Delhi: The government plans to equip all operational airports in the country with night-landing facilities by the end of this year, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said at the inaugural address of the 'Open Sky' summit organised by Business Standard in New Delhi today.
Speaking extempore, Patel set out his ministry's agenda by making a strong case for encouraging private investment and competition. 'The government can only be a facilitator, it already has the huge task of managing over 80 airports in the country. Help has to come from private investment,' he said.
The minister said only 160 out of about 500 airstrips in the country were in use. This, he added, offered scope for the development of merchant airports by private players.
Patel said the country had a major potential in the development of cargo freight and the government was planning to increase the foreign direct investment limit in cargo airlines from 49 per cent to 74 per cent to attract more investment.
04/07/07 Business Standard

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Categories: Airports Jul 2007, New Jul 2007