State airports will be aviation hotspots

MUMBAI: With Pune getting its green field airport, Nagpur airport being turned into a multi-nodal port and rest of the 12 air strips in the state getting a major upgrade, the aviation industry in the state is set to get a shot in the arm.

The Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, while speaking at the three-day summit on investment and development opportunities in emerging markets on Monday said, “Nobody in India should be more than 50 kilometers away from the airport.”

Outlining major plans for 30 non metro airports in the country, he declared that the government would finalise the bidding process for the same by mid next year.  

The Greenfield Bangalore and Hyderabad airports would become operational by April next. On the modernisation process of the non-metro airports, he said, "It would be undertaken by AAI (Airport Authorities of India) and be carried out under a public-private partnership," he said. The thrust of aviation policy will be regional.

"We cannot develop aviation in this country by developing Mumbai and Delhi alone," said Patel.

He promised to help develop air infrastructure as “the states are the backbone of aviation and there should be more intra-state connectivity to kick start growth in aviation.”