India to have 21 greenfield airports in THESE states, centre accords ‘in-principle’ approval

Nine Greenfield airports - Durgapur, Shirdi, Kannur, Pakyong, Kalaburagi, Orvakal (Kurnool), Sindhudurg, Kushinagar, and Donyi Polo, Itanagar have been operationalized, reports ANI.

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State minister of Civil Aviation, Gen VK Singh, announced that the Central government has given 'in-principle' approval for the establishment of 21 greenfield airports across the country. The construction of these new airports in various regions is in sync with the government's aim to improve air connectivity in the nation. Moreover, the plans for the new greenfield airports cover multiple states and target multiple new sites.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in a written reply to Lok Sabha, Singh said these airports include Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram, and Oravakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Donyi Polo, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.

Out of these, 9 Greenfield airports - Durgapur, Shirdi, Kannur, Pakyong, Kalaburagi, Orvakal (Kurnool), Sindhudurg, Kushinagar, and Donyi Polo, Itanagar have been operationalized.

The government has granted `In-Principle` approval to the State Government of Gujarat for the development of two Greenfield Airports at Hirasar (Rajkot) and Dholera (Ahmedabad). The State Government has collaborated with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the development of the Hirasar airport at a project cost of Rs 1405 crore.

As regards the development of Dholera Greenfield Airport at a project cost of Rs 1305 crore, a Joint Venture Company comprising AAI, the Government of Gujarat (GoG), and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) holding equity in the ratio of 51:33:16 respectively has been formed to oversee its implementation. Development of a Greenfield airport is governed under the Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008.

As per the Policy, a State Government or an Airport Developer willing to establish an airport is required to send a proposal to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for 2-stage approval, i.e., `Site-Clearance` followed by `In-Principle MoCA considers such proposal considered by MoCA as per the procedure stipulated in the GFA Policy. The reimplementing airport projects, including funding, rests with the concerned airport developer and operator, including the respective State Government (in case the State Government is the project proponent).

(With inputs from ANI)