Airports sector to see Rs 90,000 cr investments in 5 years: Official

The country's airport sector is expected to see an investment of Rs 90,000 crore over a five-year period, with nearly Rs 68,000 crore from the private players, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The civil aviation sector, which has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic that had also led to the suspension of domestic and international flight services, is slowly on the path of recovery and daily domestic air traffic is approaching pre-COVID level of 4 lakh.

Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Bansal said investments totaling Rs 90,000 crore will be made for airports over the five-year period starting in 2020-21.

Out of the total amount, about Rs 20,000-22,000 crore will be invested by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), while the remaining amount of about Rs 68,000 crore is said to come from the private sector.

The government expects to have 220 operational airports, including heliports, within five years. Currently, there are 136 operational airports in the country and many are in the works. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the new Jewar airport in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

Among other things, a new airport at Mopa in Goa should be ready next year and there will also be an airport at Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra. In addition, extension works have been carried out at Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad airports.

“Our (civil aviation) sector will recover… We will grow faster than before,” Bansal said.