Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsEnding months of speculation, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh on Saturday said that the newly constructed Chennai airport would have to be partly privatised. Speaking exclusively to Express while visiting Chennai for the first time after he took charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Singh said, “When the project was started, it was intended to be a Public Private Partnership model. In between, AAI (Airports Authority of India) believed that they could run operations but we now feel that partly privatising it will be for the best,” and added that a similar move will be effected for Kolkata airport as well. Chennai and Kolkata are the only two major airports that have not yet been part-privatised in the country.Though he arrived at the new airport on Friday night, Singh said that he had not seen it completely but had “heard great things” about it. An inauguration was imminent within “six to eight weeks” for which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been invited, he said.The focus for the next five years, he said, would be on developing connectivity to smaller towns and cities. “We are in talks with the Planning Commission and are looking at an allocation of Rs 65,000-75,000 crore for aviation. This spend will perhaps be best utilised for the second and third tier cities... A person in Madurai would prefer to fly to Delhi if there are enough options.”first published:January 01, 1970, 05:30 ISTlast updated:January 01, 1970, 05:30 IST
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];_taboola.push({mode: 'thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails', placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix' });Latest News
Ending months of speculation, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh on Saturday said that the newly constructed Chennai airport would have to be partly privatised. Speaking exclusively to Express while visiting Chennai for the first time after he took charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Singh said, “When the project was started, it was intended to be a Public Private Partnership model. In between, AAI (Airports Authority of India) believed that they could run operations but we now feel that partly privatising it will be for the best,” and added that a similar move will be effected for Kolkata airport as well. Chennai and Kolkata are the only two major airports that have not yet been part-privatised in the country.
Though he arrived at the new airport on Friday night, Singh said that he had not seen it completely but had “heard great things” about it. An inauguration was imminent within “six to eight weeks” for which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been invited, he said.
The focus for the next five years, he said, would be on developing connectivity to smaller towns and cities. “We are in talks with the Planning Commission and are looking at an allocation of Rs 65,000-75,000 crore for aviation. This spend will perhaps be best utilised for the second and third tier cities... A person in Madurai would prefer to fly to Delhi if there are enough options.”
Comments
0 comment