Centre to build 100 airports with USD 60 bn investment

​New Delhi: India plans to construct 100 new airports with an investment of close to $60 billion (about Rs 4.2 lakh crore) in the next 10-15 years, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said Tuesday.

Amid the country's domestic aviation sector recording double-digit growth for more than three years on the back of rising demand, the government is working on ways to bolster the infrastructure for the sector. "We have plans for 100 new airports to be built in India in the next 10 to 15 years with investments of almost close to $60 billion," the minister said at a conference here.

Currently, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is managing more than 120 aerodromes. "We plan to put it in the public domain for anyone interested in building infrastructure or airports will get an advanced intimation on where it is going to happen. Our strategy is clear. We have to do it in a PPP mode. We need to have private sector participation," Prabhu said.

He also said that the government is working on a cargo policy. The government plans to have a pre-determined tariff structure linked to inflation for greenfield airports.

Currently, there is cost plus tariff structure wherein the rates for an airport are determined every five years, which is known as the concession period.

Against the backdrop of the government proposing a new tariff structure for greenfield airports, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has raised concerns about it.