According to the aviation minister, the government expects to invest close to a trillion rupees in airports over the next four years in order to encourage more people to fly.
According to Jyotiraditya Scindia, the India Economic Conclave, the goal is to raise the number of airports from 141 to 200 by 2025-26.
The state-run Airports Authority of India would spend Rs 22,000 crore on developing terminals and other infrastructure at existing airports, while Rs 3,300 crore will be invested on greenfield airports in Itanagar and other Gujarat areas.
Apart from greenfield projects in Navi Mumbai, Goa, and Greater Noida, the private sector is anticipated to spend Rs 67,000 crore on the seven privately run airports.
According to Scindia, demand for air travel has increased since Covid. For the first time since the epidemic began, daily traffic surpassed 407,000 on Sunday, surpassing pre-Covid levels.
India carried 144 million passengers in 2019-20, according to Scindia, and he expects that number to climb to 400 million in 2025-26.
In the next several years, India’s largest airports would add a passenger handling capacity of 250 million, he said.
Despite the fact that jet fuel is currently five times more expensive than it was two years ago, Scindia said he has been working to reduce the tax burden.
He claimed that when he took over as aviation minister, 12 states charged VAT between 1% and 4%, while 24 jurisdictions charged more over 25%. Now, 25 states have a VAT rate of 4% or less, whereas 11 states have a high VAT rate.
The cost of jet fuel accounts for 40% of an airline’s total operating expenditures.
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