Rs. 36,000-cr capex for greenfield airports under PPP mode

New Delhi: Investments worth Rs36,000 crore have been planned for development of greenfield airports under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, Union minister VK Singh said on Thursday and also cited highly price-sensitive customers and high taxes on jet fuel as major challenges faced by the country's civil aviation sector.

In written replies to Lok Sabha, the Minister of State (MoS) for Civil Aviation also said that adequate safety measures are already in place for ensuring safe operation of aircraft at airports, including those having table-top runways, as per the International Civil Aviation Organisation standards and DGCA's civil aviation requirements. Singh said major challenges faced by the aviation sector include adverse impact of Covid pandemic, high taxes on aviation fuel, weak financial status of some airlines and sub-optimal infrastructure.