AAI will take up airport in Nizamabad, Jyotiraditya Scindia assures Suresh Reddy

New Delhi: Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) would take up the Jakranpally Airport in Nizamabad. The Union Minister was replying to the demand raised by TRS MP KR Suresh Reddy while speaking on a bill to amend the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Suresh Reddy wanted the Centre to initiate steps to start an Airport in Jakranpally in Nizamabad district, which has been long pending. Suresh Reddy said that the Union Minister told the House that AAI would take up the construction.

The AERA bill was amended to facilitate big airports which are profit making to be clubbed with non-profit making airports. Suresh Reddy questioned the mechanism the government would follow in clubbing profit making airport non-profit making and also what would be the role of the government in this process. "Will it be discretionary or any other method? Will the international classification affect the major airports? For example, the GMR had a component of government share in that. As part of monetisation will the government give it away. Will it mean that building a new airport will be done by private players? Will there be lethargy as non-profit airports are those which come from rural areas," asked Suresh Reddy.

Suresh Reddy said that there was a proposal for a long time to start an airport at Jakranpally in Nizamabad. He said that now that the air travel was not seen as luxury and even the labour class was also utilising the services given the time saving facility hence there was a need for having more and more airports. The Union Aviation Minister replied that Jakranpally would be taken up by the government through the Airport Authority of India.