Airport Authority To Spend Rs 25,000 Cr On Existing, New Terminals In Five Yrs

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Airport Authority To Spend Rs 25,000 Cr On Existing, New Terminals In Five Yrs

The amount will be utilised for building new terminals, expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services (ANS), control towers, technical blocks, etc.

In an attempt to bring back to life the aviation sector in the country which has been severely impacted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) will spend ₹25,000 crore in the next five years.

Reports suggest that there have been plans for expansion as well as modification of the existing airport facilities to strengthen the sector. Plans are being floated to establish new terminals, expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services (ANS), control towers, technical blocks, etc.

Further, as revival measures, three Public-Private Partnership (PPP) airports at Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru have also undertaken major expansion plans to the tune of ₹30,000 crores by 2025, as reported by Mint.

Among other steps, an additional fund of ₹36,000 crores would be utilised to develop new Greenfield airports across the country under PPP mode. The central government has already provided "in-principle" approval for establishing 21 Greenfield Airports, according to the ministry.

For the repair and beautification work, GST has been reduced to 5% from 18% for domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services.

Massive Losses Incurred

According to the ministry's press release, the aviation sector suffered losses to the tune of approximately ₹5,116 crore in 2021 and ₹19,564 in 2020.

"Due to the outbreak of COVID 19, scheduled domestic operations were suspended w.ef. March 25, 2020, which were subsequently resumed in a calibrated manner w.e.f. May 25, 2020 with 33% of the capacity and fare capping to ensure that airlines do not charge excessive fare," it further read.

The move comes as the Center is looking to boost aviation within the country. Under the 'Ude desh ka Aam Nagrik Scheme' 393 routes have commenced connecting 62 unserved and underserved airports, including two water aerodromes and six heliports, as of November 24.

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