Kolkata: If Kolkata gets a second airport, it is likely to be a private one developed on the lines of public-private partnership (PPP) rather than a facility developed by staterun Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Discussing the need for larger airports in metro cities like Kolkata as outlined in the Union Budget that proposes to increase the country's airport capacity by five times, AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra stressed on the need to select a site for the second airport in Kolkata to keep the growth momentum going.
"All four metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata — need two airports each. The sites have been identified for Delhi (Greater Noida's Jewar region) and Mumbai (Navi Mumbai). Tamil Nadu will finalize the site shortly. West Bengal has also agreed to scout for land. Once the land is identified, the development strategy will be finalised. But it is likely to be on a PPP basis rather than be funded by AAI," said Mohapatra.
While AAI intends to leverage its balance sheet to raise more resources to fund the expansion of airports, the AAI top executive wants the resources to go into development of non-metro airports where it may be difficult to attract private participation.
In his budget speech, Jaitley announced that domestic air passenger has grown by 18% over last three years with airlines placing orders for over 900 aircraft. Kolkata airport grew by 24% in 2016-17 when passenger count increased from 12.76 million in 2015-16 to 15.82 million in 2016-17. This year, the rate of growth is pegged around 28% with passenger count set to shoot beyond 18 million.
Though there is space for expanding the terminal at Kolkata, which is expected to handle over 17 million passengers this year against the rated capacity of 20 million passengers per annum, the problem with Kolkata is the absence of alternative runway to take more flights.
02/02/18 Times of India
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Discussing the need for larger airports in metro cities like Kolkata as outlined in the Union Budget that proposes to increase the country's airport capacity by five times, AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra stressed on the need to select a site for the second airport in Kolkata to keep the growth momentum going.
"All four metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata — need two airports each. The sites have been identified for Delhi (Greater Noida's Jewar region) and Mumbai (Navi Mumbai). Tamil Nadu will finalize the site shortly. West Bengal has also agreed to scout for land. Once the land is identified, the development strategy will be finalised. But it is likely to be on a PPP basis rather than be funded by AAI," said Mohapatra.
While AAI intends to leverage its balance sheet to raise more resources to fund the expansion of airports, the AAI top executive wants the resources to go into development of non-metro airports where it may be difficult to attract private participation.
In his budget speech, Jaitley announced that domestic air passenger has grown by 18% over last three years with airlines placing orders for over 900 aircraft. Kolkata airport grew by 24% in 2016-17 when passenger count increased from 12.76 million in 2015-16 to 15.82 million in 2016-17. This year, the rate of growth is pegged around 28% with passenger count set to shoot beyond 18 million.
Though there is space for expanding the terminal at Kolkata, which is expected to handle over 17 million passengers this year against the rated capacity of 20 million passengers per annum, the problem with Kolkata is the absence of alternative runway to take more flights.
02/02/18 Times of India
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