India to build 200 new airports
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The Indian government has outlined plans to build 200 new airports.
Presenting the budget this week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said new airports would be developed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in smaller towns and cities across the country.
Like the country’s railway modernisation plans, the new airports will be developed under public-private partnerships.
The 200 new airports will be created over the next 20 years, mainly in tier two and three cities.
Last month, aviation secretary Ashok Lavasa said that India was is preparing a “roadmap for no-frills airports”. These hubs would be either be built from scratch or developed on existing unused airstrips.
“India has as many as 464 airstrips, out of which less than 25% are controlled by the AAI. Of this number with AAI, not all are operational,” Lavasa told an event held by the Economic Times. “No frills and energy efficient airports will help us lower the cost of infrastructure.”
The development of more low-cost and regional airports would support the expansion of India’s new breed of low-cost carrier, such as SpiceJet, IndiGo and, most recently, AirAsia India.
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