The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the transfer of the Ambedkar International Airport at Nagpur to a joint-venture company comprising Maharashtra Airport Development Company and Airports Authority of India to develop a multi-modal international passenger and cargo airport hub at Nagpur. ?The move will encourage economic activity in Vidarbha region,? information & broadcasting minister P R Dasmunsi said.
According to an official statement, the airport is expected to add around Rs 52,200 crore to the net economic value of the region by 2035, apart from creating thousands of jobs. The total project cost is Rs 2,581 crore over 30 years, against which corresponding revenue is estimated at Rs 5,280 crore.
A detailed study of traffic data suggested that Nagpur could be developed to handle passenger traffic of 18.9 million per annum in 2035, against 0.2 mpa in 2000. Similarly, air cargo traffic is forecasts at around 11.7 million tonne in 2035, against 910 mt in 2000.
The Cabinet also approved AAI subscribing to Rs 4.9 crore capital in the JVC, which would have a total subscribed capital of Rs 10 crore.
The proposal for Kerala’s fourth international airport at Kannur is also back in the reckoning with the Cabinet clearing the project. This would be the state?s second greenfield airport project.
The new airport is to be on the lines of Cochin International Airport, India’s first greenfield PP airport. The Kerala government has proposed 74% private and 26% state government equity.
Although the Leela Hotels-Singapore Changi Airport combine have worked out plans for the project as lead developer, the Kerala government is considering global tenders and techno-commercial pre-qualifications to identify partners. “Now that we have the much-awaited Central nod, we’ll set the bidding process rolling at the earliest,” M Vijaya Kumar, Kerala minister in charge of aviation, told FE.
Acquisition of 2,000 acres for the airport is on in Kannur, a large textile export base. The first phase is to cost roughly Rs 929.50 crore.