Addressing the 11th Routes Asia Conference in Mumbai recently, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh said that various policy measures taken by the government have begun to yield results and hoped that the general aviation business will emerge as a key driver of regional connectivity and economic development. He cited the Tata-Air Asia proposal and the interest evinced by Etihad as examples of growing business confidence in the Indian civil aviation sector.
Singh termed the 49 per cent FDI in aviation as the single most important policy decision which will transform the civil aviation scenario. He stated that to give a boost to international air travel, the government has liberalised grant of traffic rights to Indian carriers. “The new traffic rights have opened up several new international sectors and increased the traffic entitlements of our carriers by approximately 60 per cent,” he added. The Minister urged all the stakeholders to engage in a joint promotion of brand ‘India’.
The Minister said the government’s thrust on development of infrastructure would continue and added “Indian government envisages investment of US$ 12.1 billion during the 12th plan period, of which US$ 9.3 billion is expected to come from the private sector”. He said, besides the four PPP airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, the Airports Authority of India has modernised Kolkata and Chennai airports and developing 35 other non-metro airports.
When asked about the delay in commencement of work on the Navi Mumbai airport choking the air traffic development in Mumbai, Singh revealed that the ongoing modernisation and expansion being carried out at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport would enable it to handle up to 40 million passengers per annum. Maharashtra Chief Secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia, who was also present, informed that 70 per cent of the land acquisition for the Navi Mumbai airport has been completed and the state government is now in the process of relocating high tension wires. The Navi Mumbai airport was originally scheduled to commence operations between 2015 and 2016.
Presently, India is the ninth largest aviation market in the world handling 121 million domestic and 41 million international passengers.
