The NDA-government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to take forward the previous regime’s proposal to develop no-frills airports by creating assets initially only at places of strategic importance. However, if private sector entities choose to set up airports for commercial purposes, the government will give a go ahead after due assessment. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju Pusapathi told The Indian Express that in all places of strategic significance such as in the north-east, developmental projects to enhance air connectivity would be taken up on a priority basis. The centre has not scrapped the policy to set up no-frills airports to push regional and remote area connectivity, however, at all other locations viability studies will be done to gauge commercial sustainability. “There are places where we have difficult terrain such as in the north-east. We have to develop airports there. In all places of strategic importance, we will go ahead with our plans. We haven’t scrapped the proposal but since we have limited resources, we have decided to prioritise”, said Raju. [related-post] Besides, if any private sector entity desires to set up a greenfield airport or develop a brownfield project to improve connectivity for industrial purposes, permission may be granted after due assessment. Raju informed, “If any private sector entity wants to develop an airport for commercial purposes, we can give them a go ahead.” The rationale behind the Centre’s decision, said senior ministry officials, is to not contribute to a list of non-performing assets. An internal study done by the ministry of civil aviation has revealed that over 30 airports operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has not seen any activity in the past one year. “We do not want to contribute to the list of non-performing assets. There are 30-31 airports which have not seen a single flight in the last one year. Viability studies need to be done and justification needs to be provided for proposing development of airports at any specific location”, Raju said. The minister has accordingly directed AAI to work out the parameters on the basis of which locations can be identified for construction of no-frills airports. A senior AAI official said, “We are going to engage a consultant. The consultant will determine the viability of setting up no-frills airports based on industrial, commercial and tourism potential at a particular location. You need at least Rs 6-8 crore as operational expenses at a no-frills airport. Locations identified by the consultant would have to be operationally self-sustaining.” In June 2013, the previous government had decided to build no-frills airports at 50 cities and towns of Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. This was aimed at enhancing connectivity in regional and remote areas, mainly in Tier-II and -III cities. The Narendra Modi-led government had started work on five of the proposed airports — at Hubbali (earlier Hubli) and Belagavi (earlier Belgaum) in Karnataka; Kishangarh in Rajasthan, Jharsuguda in Odisha and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh — in 2014-15. No-frills airports will have airstrips long enough to handle turboprops like ATR and Bombardier Q400s. The terminal buildings will be energy-efficient, with minimum security hold and air-conditioned areas to keep costs in check. They will be lean so that passengers can directly step out of the airport upon arrival. The blueprint includes barbed wire, not boundary walls; people handling baggage, and not machines; a shorter check-in time to keep lounges small; and local cops instead of the more expensive Central Industrial Security Force. There will not be any food kiosks but clean drinking will be provided. The purpose is to create the minimum facilities for aircraft to operate, without compromising on safety and security. A greenfield airport can be build for in about Rs 50 crore.
