India to splurge $12b on airports as travel rebounds

India will spend about 980b rupees ($12b) over the next two years on airports, with airline orders for hundreds of new planes to meet resurgent travel demand putting pressure on existing infrastructure. The world’s fastest-growing aviation market aims to boost the number of airports to 220 by 2025 from the current 148, for which private builders will invest about $9b and state-run Airports Authority of India will bring the rest. It involves greenfield projects, new terminals and the renovation of existing facilities, including former military airfields left over from colonial times. Though the entire country of 1.42b people has a fleet of only some 700 aircraft — United Airlines flies more — existing airports in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai are running out of parking and landing slots. The move comes as India asserts itself more broadly on the global stage, buoyed by a rising consumer base and growth in the $3.2t economy on track to exceed China’s. The country has already been making its mark in aviation, with Air India Ltd. last month announcing the biggest deal in commercial aviation history. Boeing and Airbus have been sourcing parts from India for years. India wants to be a powerhouse in air transport, according to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who kicks off the three-day CAPA India Aviation Summit Monday. Boeing forecasts India’s passenger traffic will grow at a rate of nearly 7% annually, compared with 4.9% in China from 2022 through 2041. “The growth in aviation infrastructure will bring a huge amount of economic upside and new airports will improve the quality of life for most people partly because of bad road infrastructure and slow trains in India,” said Jayant Mukhopadhaya, researcher at the International Council of Clean Transportation. <br/>