Pvt airports may take wings on ministry signal

New Delhi: In a move to beef up airport infrastructure, the government has finalised the guidelines for construction of private airports. The Cabinet would soon consider guidelines for constructing airports and airstrips for private use, government sources said. The civil aviation ministry has a lot of proposals from corporate houses including Reliance Industries (RIL) to develop airports, airstrips and helipads for captive use.
The proposed policy is expected to give a major fillip to airport development as individual proposals would not require Cabinet clearance. In future, a proposal to build a private airport would be cleared by the civil aviation ministry, subject to security clearance by the home ministry.
“..The move is expected to not only encourage private participation but also reduce burden on airports in metros like Delhi and Mumbai,” a government official said.
“Development of private airports does not involve public funding. This also does not impact adversely the ongoing modernisation work of the existing airports,” he added.
The proposed policy is likely to allow multiple airports within an aerial distance of 150 km.
19/04/08 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: Airports Apr 2008, Merchant Airports Apr 2008, New Apr 2008