Delayed take-off: Airport projects live on hope

Mumbai: The story of new airports in India has been synonymous with regulatory uncertainties, government inertia and land acquisition woes. Put simply, it is a story of big promises, false starts and missed deadlines.
But the industry is still clinging to hopes after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced work would be awarded for three airports that would be built from scratch at new locations (greenfield airports) at Navi Mumbai, Goa and Kannur and new international airports at Lucknow, Varanasi, Coimbatore, Trichy and Gaya. Also, new hubs would be developed in Chennai and Delhi to make India a destination, as well as transit point.
Experts said the fact that the prime minister has thrown his weight behind these projects is expected to give a push to the airports in Navi Mumbai and Goa, which have been stuck for a decade. The government had begun planning a second airport in Mumbai from the mid-90s. Initially, it had examined three sites—Navi Mumbai, Rewas Mandwa and Sindhudurg—before selecting Navi Mumbai.
20/06/12 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Categories: airports Jun 2012, New Jun 2012