he National Capital Region (NCR) might have a second airport, with the civil aviation ministry on Thursday clearing a proposal to ease the burden on Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), which handled 40 million passengers last financial year.
The proposal to develop a new airport, for which several sites are being explored, including Jewar in Greater Noida, would be sent to the Cabinet for approval, said Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma.
The decision was taken at a meeting attended by Civil Aviation Secretary Rajeev Nayan Choubey, Air India CMD Rohit Nandan, Pawan Hans counterpart B P Sharma, Airports Authority of India chairman R K Srivastava, Director General of Civil Aviation M Sathiyavathi and senior civil aviation ministry officials besides Sharma.
"We have decided to develop a second airport in the NCR, as we want to reduce both pollution and air traffic at the Delhi Airport," Sharma said.
The move could undermine IGIA's plan to become an aviation hub. The proposed airport would cater to both domestic and international traffic, he said, adding, the facility would also undertake cargo operations. The minister said Jewar would be the most appropriate spot, as around 2000 acres was already available for the project. "We are talking to the UP government in this regard," Sharma said, adding the ministry is exploring other options as well.
According to Sharma, GMR Group, the majority stakeholder in the venture that operates IGIA, is proposed to be accorded the right to first refusal with regard to the new project.
For the new project to fructify, the government would have to amend certain regulations as existing rules do not permit a second airport within a radius of 150 km of an existing one, unless the latter is functioning beyond its operational capacity. Industry experts felt the new airport will not be a threat to IGIA, as it has a great potential. "IGIA is nowhere near saturation. There is ample scope for future growth in both passenger and cargo segments. The saturation capacity of IGIA is 100 million passengers," said an industry source, not wishing to be named.
The source said IGIA has a built-in capacity of 62.5 million passengers against traffic of 40.9 million in 2014-15 and the cargo capacity of 1.5 million tonne against traffic of 0.7 million tonne in 2014-15. Ever since taking charge, Sharma, a member of Parliament from Noida, has been pushing for a second international airport at Jewar.
Aviation ministry clears new airport in NCR | Business Standard News
The proposal to develop a new airport, for which several sites are being explored, including Jewar in Greater Noida, would be sent to the Cabinet for approval, said Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma.
The decision was taken at a meeting attended by Civil Aviation Secretary Rajeev Nayan Choubey, Air India CMD Rohit Nandan, Pawan Hans counterpart B P Sharma, Airports Authority of India chairman R K Srivastava, Director General of Civil Aviation M Sathiyavathi and senior civil aviation ministry officials besides Sharma.
"We have decided to develop a second airport in the NCR, as we want to reduce both pollution and air traffic at the Delhi Airport," Sharma said.
The move could undermine IGIA's plan to become an aviation hub. The proposed airport would cater to both domestic and international traffic, he said, adding, the facility would also undertake cargo operations. The minister said Jewar would be the most appropriate spot, as around 2000 acres was already available for the project. "We are talking to the UP government in this regard," Sharma said, adding the ministry is exploring other options as well.
According to Sharma, GMR Group, the majority stakeholder in the venture that operates IGIA, is proposed to be accorded the right to first refusal with regard to the new project.
For the new project to fructify, the government would have to amend certain regulations as existing rules do not permit a second airport within a radius of 150 km of an existing one, unless the latter is functioning beyond its operational capacity. Industry experts felt the new airport will not be a threat to IGIA, as it has a great potential. "IGIA is nowhere near saturation. There is ample scope for future growth in both passenger and cargo segments. The saturation capacity of IGIA is 100 million passengers," said an industry source, not wishing to be named.
The source said IGIA has a built-in capacity of 62.5 million passengers against traffic of 40.9 million in 2014-15 and the cargo capacity of 1.5 million tonne against traffic of 0.7 million tonne in 2014-15. Ever since taking charge, Sharma, a member of Parliament from Noida, has been pushing for a second international airport at Jewar.
Aviation ministry clears new airport in NCR | Business Standard News
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