(a) whether the Government proposes to launch a new initiative NextGen Airports for Bharat (NABH) Nirman to expand airport capacity in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the existing annual handling capacity at Indian Airports is unable to keep pace with the demand;
(d) if so, the details thereof along with reaction of the Government thereto; and
(e) the other steps taken by the Government to expand and augment infrastructure in civil aviation sector in the country?
The Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Jayant Sinha)
(a) & (b): A comprehensive aviation capacity expansion program, NABH (NextGen Airports for Bharat) Nirman, as announced in the Union Budget 2018, is intended to develop sufficient airports and air space capacity. NABH Nirman, a multi-year program, envisages to expand India''s aviation capacity over five times to serve a billion passenger trips a year. This program includes overall passenger growth projections, detailed passenger forecasts for all major airports, new regulatory approaches for greenfield and brownfield airports, collaborative urban and land planning frameworks with various states, and necessary financing to build out aviation capacity.;
(c) & (d): At present, the available capacity at Indian Airports is 334 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) as against the demand of 265 million passengers during year 2016-17. However, Delhi and Mumbai airports are nearing saturation point and the concerned airport operators have taken action for creation of additional capacity by way of expansion of terminal, using facilities at Hindon airport for RCS aircrafts and development of new Greenfield airports at Navi Mumbai and Jewar.;
(e): Expansion and Augmentation of civil aviation infrastructure is a continuous process which is undertaken by AAI from time to time depending on the traffic demand, operational requirements, availability of land etc. Recently, AAI has taken up the expansion/upgradation work of airports at Surat, Kolkata, Dimapur, Amritsar, Tezu, Port Blair, Hubli, Belgaum, Kishangarh, Gorakhpur, Jammu, Calicut, Pakyong, Agartala, Guwahati and Trivandrum. Further, AAI has planned to invest Rs. 20,178 Crores for the period 2016-17 to 2021-22 for upgrading airport infrastructure and services.