Flawed docus, high costs thwart Juhu airport development

Mumbai: The state government may be pushing for the development of the Juhu airport in a big way, but the exorbitant cost needed for it and a difficult-to-come-by environmental clearance can make the project a non-starter, at least in the near future.
The plan was first proposed in 2010 with the aim of easing traffic at the Mumbai airport, which has turned into one of the busiest in Asia over the years. It currently handles helicopters, including those of certain government firms like ONGC, and light aircraft.The government plans to extend the runway into the sea to allow landing of larger aircraft.
Senior officials attribute the over Rs2,000 crore investment needed for its development as the biggest hurdle. “Even if the public-private-partnership (PPP) is brought in, the operation should be economically viable which, going by the current plan, does not seem so,” said a senior Airport Authority of India official.
17/07/12 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: airports Jul 2012