 "Govt to review 150 km clause; eyes second airport in Jewar")
Mahesh Sharma, who took charge as minister of state for civil aviation, said on Wednesday: “Strategically, Noida and Greater Noida have great industrial potential and, therefore, infrastructure would be needed which would also generate more jobs. Therefore, there is a need to develop an airport in this belt… The new airport project in Jewar is an important project. It has to be discussed in the wider interest of the nation. The airport is not a project of Mayawati or Mulayam Singh, but of India.”
The Jewar airport proposal was first mooted in 2001 by the then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Rajnath Singh, and later pushed by his successor Mayawati.
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Notably, the proposed Greater Noida airport goes against the existing policy as the distance between Jewar and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport is less than 150 km. According to norms laid out in the ‘Policy on Airport Infrastructure of India’ “no greenfield airport will be allowed within an aerial distance of 150 km of an existing airport. Where it is allowed as a second airport in the same city or close vicinity, the parameters for distribution of traffic between the two airports will be clearly spelt out.”
The government can, however, approve establishment of greenfield airports at places where an existing airport is unable to meet the projected requirements of traffic. It can be allowed both as a replacement for an existing airport or for simultaneous operation.
Sharma, who represents the Gautam Buddha Nagar constituency under which Jewar falls, said that 2,378 acres of land in 35 villages was acquired in 2003 for the airport and that more land is available, if needed.
He added that the proposal would first be discussed within the civil aviation ministry and with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before taking it forward. He indicated that a decision on the matter would be taken by the end of the year.
According to Sharma, the infrastructure in Delhi will not be able to cope with the growing air traffic and a new airport near the national capital will help.
“The population in Delhi-NCR (national capital region) is projected to increase to 2.45 million by 2030 from the current 1.6 million. The existing infrastructure would not be able to support such growth. There is a need to develop a second international airport and Jewar is the closest place to Delhi where a lot of land is available for use,” he said.
In FY14, traffic at Delhi airport was 36.9 million, up from 16.2 million in 2005-06. The airport has the capacity to handle 62 million passengers a year.
Kapil Kaul, CEO (South Asia) at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said: “Land earmarked earlier for the Greater Noida airport should have been acquired for the second airport in NCR region. Land acquisition now will be costlier and could also face challenges. It will take five to seven years (even if fast tracked) for the second airport to become operational. The earliest will be FY22 and by then the present airport will be closer to its structural capacity.”
“DIAL (Delhi International Airport) by FY22 or later will be a more competitive and perhaps, a very critical airport for the aviation sector with very strong network density and will remain unchallenged even after the second airport becomes operational. India’s airport development plan lacks a long-term focus. We need a structured master plan for airports, which can last more than a generation (three or four decades) and is integrated to the overall national transport infrastructure plan,” Kaul added.
Sharma, a medical doctor by profession who owns the Kailash Group of Hospitals, has also been given independent charge of the tourism and culture ministry.
He said tourism and aviation sectors could go hand-in-hand to help each other like Singapore and Dubai, by attracting tourists and businesses. “Growth in international tourism and a further boost to the image of 'Incredible India' are the top priority areas which require our immediate attention to achieve newer heights," Sharma noted.
The policy change on greenfield airports being considered is significant as the government plans to increase air connectivity by developing budget airports in smaller cities. The government has said it will encourage participation of the private sector in such projects to tap into resources as well as expertise. An institutional framework would be established for the same, while regulators would be given greater autonomy as well as accountability.
Overall, infrastructure creation in the form of modernisation of existing airports and development of low-cost airports to promote air connectivity, particularly to remote and regional areas, is a major area of focus for the Modi-led government. The manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party hints at the “potential for (developing) inland air transportation to various remote and local locations in the country. Such air strips will be developed so that low-cost air travelling becomes possible within the country."