Questions raised against Ajit’s Tier III airport plans

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh is planning to set up airports in Tier III cities such as Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, Along, Ziro and Passighat in Arunachal Pradesh, Rupsi in Assam, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. All the concerned states have been asking for these airports. However, serious questions are being raised about the feasibility of these projects.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh ; Source:  Outlook India

"It is good to construct airports and boost the connectivity among various cities, however, the ministry should invest only if a project in a particular city is economically viable," said aviation expert Javed Raza, who is also the general secretary of the Janata Dal (United). He explained that airports in cities like Bareilly and Bilaspur will not be economically beneficial as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will not be able to recover the money it invests in these projects.

"We are targeting first class train passengers in these cities. While the projects will not be generating revenue initially, it will be beneficial for both the AAI and the passengers in the long run," said a senior official from AAI on the condition of anonymity. He added that the initial revenue from these airports will depend on that generated by airports in Tier II cities.

The ministry also has the daunting task of convincing India's cash strapped airlines to fly on these routes. "The government will first have to present a bouquet of airline friendly policies like removal of taxes and others to make the routes lucrative for the carriers," noted an expert.

On the political front, Singh had shown keen interest in the development of airports in UP and had requested the Akhilesh Yadav government to build airports in Meerut, Bareilly, Faizabad and Gorakhpur, which was apparently not accepted. "Airports in these cities will encourage more industries to be set up in them, which would eventually boost the state's economy. While in other states, airports have been developed in even small towns, UP only has two of them. The UP government, apparently, is not interested," Singh had said last year.