AAI’s non-metro airport projects on fast track

After receiving mini ratna status and restructuring its board, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has put the non-metro airport development projects on fast track. The first one that may see the light of the day soon is the proposed Rs 340 crore Goa airport project. The airports authority has sent the proposal for the cabinet approval. AAI, however, will now withdraw the projects from the respective authorities as with mini ratna status it doesn’t need cabinet nod for the project. “The AAI board can now approve projects worth up to Rs 500 crore on its own. Therefore, we can withdraw the Goa project from the cabinet and go ahead on our own,” a senior AAI official said. AAI is also looking for fast approval of its proposed green field airport in Itanagar. The Rs 650-crore project in the North East region has already been sent for the government nod. The AAI official said the project was getting delayed due to the lengthy clearance procedure. “The government approval takes a long time but with the mini ratna status, a number of projects which are of Rs 500 crore or less can go ahead without the permission of any other departments. This will definitely speed up the work on these projects,” the official said.
AAI was awarded the status of mini ratna category-I in December 2008. The organisation has inducted four independent directors including Deepak Parekh, the chief executive officer of Housing Development Finance Corporation, Hafeez Contractor, the renowned Architect, Sajjan Jindal, the vice chairman and managing director of JSW steel and Arun Bongirwar, former chief secretary of Maharashtra on its board. “The appointment of the independent directors will help fast approval of the projects. We can now exercise our powers of autonomy and partner with the private companies to develop greenfield airports,” the official said.
The PSU status is also a blessing at a time when the project costs are going up. According to the AAI officials the cost of many airport projects has increased significantly due to the high input cost. “Our estimates for various projects including Bhopal airport have gone wrong because the cost of the projects has gone really high due to inflation and other factors,” the official said.
AAI proposes to spend Rs 12434.34 crore during the 11th five year plan for airport infrastructure. Out of this, Rs 6443.53 crore would be invested for developing non-metro airports whereas Rs 5990.81 crore has been allotted for the development of metro and other private/greenfield airports.