Reliance, Birla, Vedanta in queue for private airports

The government's decision to allow private parties to develop airports for public and private use has opened a Pandora's Box.
Two private airport projects —- in Durgapur (West Bengal) and Bokaro (Jharkhand) —- are in the final stages of getting the go-ahead from the civil aviation ministry and the policy announcement last night is a shot in the arm for both.They envisage investment by private developers with no role for the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Now, all proposals for private airports, airstrips and helipads for private use can be cleared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) itself and would not require any Cabinet approval.
According to the DGCA website, more than 15 airstrips/airports are currently operational for private use. The approvals to them were given years back when the DGCA was the deciding authority.
Official sources said many private players have already sought permission to set up airports and airstrips for their own use.
"Yes, there are a few proposals with us," said K.Gohain, joint director, DGCA, told DNA Money. He did not elaborate.
Sources said these include the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, the country's largest hospital, and the Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital in Pune.
The Sahara Group's Aamby project near Pune and the Vedanta Aluminium's project in Orissa have also sought to build and operate a private airportairstrip each.
Reliance Industries, which is coming up with a mega special economic zone in Jhajjar, Haryana, has already petitioned the government for permission to set up a cargo airport, which would be used by the company as well as others needing to transport cargo.
26/04/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya & Praveena Sharma/DNA Money/Sify

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