Plan to set up 25 low-cost airports

Mumbai: In a bid to encourage regional airlines and provide air links to small cities and towns, nearly 25 greenfield or unutilised airport projects have been identified by various states, which will be up for bidding by the private sector.
Planned in tier-II or tier-III cities, the airports would be in addition to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s (MoCA’s) ambitious modernisation programme for 35 non-metro airports.
A no-frill airport is built at a minimum cost and allows operation of small jets as well as slightly bigger aircraft like Boeing's B737 or Airbus' A320. The investment in such an airport could range from Rs 40 crore to Rs 100 crore.
The places identified for the purpose include Hassan, Shimoga, Gulbarga, Bidar, Mysore (all in Karnataka), Shirdi, Jalgaon, Solapur, Akola (all in Maharashtra), Kannur (Kerala), Madurai, Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu), Rupsi (Assam), Ajmer, Mount Abu, Kailashar (Rajasthan), Behala, Cooch Behar, Malda (West Bengal), Jharsuguda (Orissa), Muzaffurpur (Bihar), Kamalpur (Tripura) and Passighat (Arunachal Pradesh).
Low-cost airports are already catching the fancy of high profile airport developers and corporates, as well as budget carriers.
19/07/07 P R Sanjai/Business Standard

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Categories: Airports Jul 2007, New Jul 2007