V P Agarwal, a senior board member of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), will take over as its chief from January one.
The appointment of Agarwal, who would replace Dr K Ramalingam, has been approved by the appointments committee of the Union Cabinet, official sources said.
Agarwal has been member (Planning) of the state-owned airports body since November 2006 and had served as Executive Director of the Northern and Northeastern region earlier.
Ramalingam, an electronics and communication engineer, is currently on the Navigation Systems Panel of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which sets standards and practices for airlines and airports.
He is also associated with the implementation of the India's GAGAN satellite-based navigation project, being jointly developed by the AAI and the Indian Space Research Organisation to provide total coverage of the Indian skies as well as that over the vast Indian Ocean area.
Both Ramalingam and Agarwal have been key figures responsible for the ongoing process of modernisation of airports across the country.