New Delhi: The Airport Authority of India will invest about Rs 1,500 crore to modernise at least 10 non-metro airports by 2008.
According to sources, AAI is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the final list of airports to be covered in the first phase of the non-metro airport modernisation programme.
AAI has already identified 12 cities, which include Jaipur, Udaipur, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ambala, Thiruvananthapuram, Vishakapatnam, Mangalore, Nagpur, Goa, Varanasi and Trichy, the sources said.
Out of these 12 airports, 10 will be modernised using the public private partnership (PPP) model. The airside of the modernisation will be with AAI, which will include modernisation of terminals, parking bays, taxiway and runways.
"It, however, will be subject to the decision of the committee on infrastructure headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on what kind of a model will be followed for the development of city side and what kind of facilities could be developed," the sources said.
The modernisation of airports have become a contentious issue between the UPA government and its Left allies, who have opposed privatisation process.
The Left parties had recently cautioned the Government that a joint venture route for modernising Chennai and Kolkata airports was ‘totally unacceptable’ after government had come forward with such a proposal for Delhi and Mumbai airports.
Patel had said a route different to the one followed for Delhi and Mumbai could not be taken for modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports.
Yet, two models for modernisation of the non-metro airports were currently being discussed, one being the PPP model and the other being a joint-venture between private party and the AAI, the sources said.
As part of non-metro airports' modernisation programme, AAI expects to install CAT II systems in select airports like Amritsar and Srinagar.
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