The Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to scrap the upgradation of about
seven of the 35 non-metro airports. The move follows a reduction in revenue
caused by airlines slashing the number of flights to stem mounting losses.
AAI had planned to spend at least Rs 6,440 crore by 2011-12 for modernisation
of the 35 airports. The airports that were being revamped included Ahmedabad,
Amritsar, Guwahati, Jaipur, Udaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Goa, Madurai,
Mangalore, Agatti, Aurangabad, Khajuraho, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhopal, Indore,
Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, Tiruchirappalli, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Patna, Port
Blair, Varanasi, Agartala, Dehradun, Imphal, Ranchi, Raipur, Agra, Chandigarh,
Dimapur, Jammu and Pune.
The authority proposes to take tackle the shortfall in modernisation costs by
seeking government approval to raise Rs 5,000 crore from a sale of tax-free
bonds, increasing commercial development of airport properties, recovering dues
from airlines and oil companies etc.
Also See:
AAI plans
investment for development of airports (02-Jun-09)