‘India needs $40 bn for developing airports’

Taking an optimistic view of the country’s air passenger growth scenario,the aviation think tank has said that the recent slowdown in growth is a short-term phenomenon.

“It will not be long before India resumes sustained double-digit traffic growth and,at many airports across the country,capacity constraints will be encountered sooner rather than later,” says the report.

Domestic passenger numbers,which has seen double-digits growth in the last two years,has witnessed a fall in the last three months.

Analysts say the decline is on the fall in capacity of Kingfisher Airlines (which dropped from being the second largest carrier in terms of passengers flown to the lowest in July) and rise in fares that has increased by over 25 per cent.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation report also mentions that going ahead availability of land will become a major challenge for the implementation of road projects in India.

“McKinsey estimates that India’s urban population will grow from 20 per cent of the total in 1991 to 37 per cent by 2025. By 2030 India is expected to have 55 cities with a population of more than one million. Airports have massive land requirements and will have to fight with other users of land,for what will be an increasingly expensive asset,” the latest report says.

“In fact,the cost of land may ultimately impact the viability of many airport projects,” the report adds.

At present,India has 93 operational airports,including six airports run by private operators. There are plans to build three greenfield airports in Goa,Mumbai and Pune.

To increase air connectivity in smaller towns of the country,the government is also planning to subsidise operations by airlines in non-profit making routes connecting smaller cities through the creation of a fund called Essential Air Services Fund or EASF.