The Centre will work with the states for innovative measures for capacity augmentation of airports in the country and revise regulatory framework for airports, apparently to attract private capital into the aviation sector.
At a meeting between the Civil Aviation Ministryand Airlinerepresentatives here today, proposals for a new urban planning and multi-modal connectivity to the airports was discussed as part of the NABH (NextGen Airports for Bharat) Nirman initiative.
The initiative seeks expansion of the Airportcapacity more than five times to handle a billion trips a year. The aviation industry at present is growing at a rate of about 30 per cent.
During the meeting chaired by Minister Of Statefor Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, it was felt that further amendments to the AirportEconomic Regulatory Authority Act is needed to address the capacity constraint issue, sources said. AirportAuthority of IndiaChairmanGuruprasad Mohapatrawas also present at the meeting.
The collective concerns of the airlines was that the steps being initiated now should have been taken four to five years ago. The capacity constraint has come to such a point that airports such as Delhi and Mumbai are unable to provide further slots for new services, they said.
The Civil Aviation Ministrytweeted that the Minister Of Statehas kick-started periodic discussions with Airlineand Airportstake-holders on NABH Nirman-our plan for expansion of Airportcapacity. "We are committed to building India's Airportinfrastructure ahead of future aviation demand," the tweet said.
The meeting today assumed significance in light of a recent report by Airports Council International, which projected that Indiais poised to become the second fastest aviation market in the world by 2040, leaving behind Chinaat the eighth place.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)