Hyderabad, March 14 (IANS) The government was formulating an economic regulatory framework for future airports as well as an air cargo promotion policy, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said here Wednesday.
Inaugurating India Aviation 2012 here, he said domestic passenger growth was expected to continue at nine to 10 percent in the coming years.
“India is the fastest growing civil aviation market in the world and by 2020 will be amongst first three markets with about 420 million passengers being handled by the Indian airport system as against 140 million in 2010,” he said.
“Indian airspace will see nearly 3.2 million aircraft movements including over-flying, etc. This growth in India will also create exciting opportunities for the aerospace industry in the region,” said Ajit Singh.
He told the participants that in order to attract foreign investors, India was allowing 100 percent FDI in greenfield airports under the automatic route to facilitate world-class airports. “An appropriate economic regulatory framework for future airports is also being worked out to attract investment and ensure their viability.”
Ajit Singh said the cargo handled at Indian airports saw an impressive growth of CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth rate) 10.9 percent in the last five years, with international cargo accounting for two-thirds of the total cargo.
He said the ministry was formulating an air cargo promotion policy, which will be brought forward for consultation.
Over 200 companies from 18 countries are participating in the third edition of the international conference and exhibition on civil aviation, being jointly organised by the government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
“The growing interest in our flagship aviation event is a reflection of the fact that India is fast on its way to becoming an aviation hub in the near future with this Air Show,” the minister said.
Ajit Singh said India was uniquely placed to offer enormous opportunities and potential for aviation companies worldwide to collaborate and expand their presence in the region.
In the last decade, traffic carried by domestic airlines in India grew nearly six-fold from 13 million to around 60 million in 2011.
He pointed out that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was gearing up to meet the challenges of rapid growth in aircraft movements.
The Future Indian Navigation System Master Plan includes significant investment in modernisation of Communication Navigation Surveillance (CNS), Air Traffic Managements and Meteorological Equipment, Enhancing Manpower and Training Infrastructure and harmonization with global initiatives and regional air navigation plans.
India’s GPS aided Geo augmented Navigation system known as GAGAN Developed by AAI with the support of ISRO is likely to be rolled out by 2013, he added.
