Nov 24, 2016: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has granted 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 18 Greenfield Airports, namely, Pakyong in Sikkim, Navi Mumbai, Sindhudurg and Shirdi in Maharashtra, Mopa in Goa, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Hasan and Shimoga in Karnataka, Kannur in Kerala, Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera in Gujarat, Dagadarthi (Nellore), Bhogapuram (Vizianagram) and Oravakallu (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Gwalior and Karaikal in Madhya Pradesh. Up-gradation and modernisation of existing airports is a continuous process which is undertaken by Airports Authority of India (AAI) from time to time depending upon various factors such as land availability, traffic demand, operational requirements, demand from airlines, etc.
Out of all the proposals received by MoCA during the years 2014 to 2016 for setting up of Greenfield Airports, the Government of India has granted 'in-principle' approval to the projects at Bhogapuram, Tadepalligudem and Oravakallu in Andhra Pradesh and 'site-clearance' to Government of Rajasthan for setting up of airport at Bhiwadi and Government of Telangana for setting up of airport at Kothagudem.
The timeline for construction of airport projects depends upon many factors such as land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances, financial closure, etc. by the individual developer, which involves a lengthy and time consuming process. Ministry of Civil Aviation does not mandate any timelines to project proponents.
Government regularly monitors the projects to ensure timely completion and fulfilment of budgetary obligations. However, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has an independent Project Monitoring and Quality Assurance (PMQA) mechanism to ensure regular monitoring through periodic site inspection visits and holding review and coordination meetings for effective review of project implementation, quality assurance, expenditure monitoring and regulatory mechanism to ensure budgetary compliance at all stages of the project implementation in order to ensure timely completion and to avoid cost escalation.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.