Bhubaneswar: Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), Bhubaneswar is among the 25 airports in the country that have been earmarked for leasing over the years 2022 to 2025, the Parliament was told today.
As per National Monetization Pipeline (NMP), 25 Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports namely Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Amritsar, Trichy, Indore, Raipur, Calicut, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Patna, Madurai, Surat, Ranchi, Jodhpur, Chennai, Vijayawada, Vadodara, Bhopal, Tirupati, Hubli, Imphal, Agartala, Udaipur, Dehradun, and Rajahmundry have been earmarked for leasing over the years 2022 to 2025, informed Minister of State, Civil Aviation, Gen VK Singh (retd) in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
The AAI has leased out eight of its airports under Public Private Partnership (PPP) for operation, management, and development on a long-term lease basis.
These airports are Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad, Mangaluru International Airport, Jaipur International Airport, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati, and the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
The Minister of State stated that airports of AAI are leased out in the public interest for their better management utilizing private sector efficiency and investment.
States and passengers are the ultimate beneficiaries of enhanced airport infrastructure and facilities created by the private partner, who operates, manages, and develops the leased airport under PPP, he said.
The Minister of State stated that airports have emerged as a nucleus of economic activities and have a multiplier effect on the economy of the State.
The revenue received by AAI from the leased airports is also utilized in the development of airport infrastructure across the country, he added.
