Indian Airports Receive ₹96,000 Crore Investment Over Last 5 Years: Minister.

In a major push to modernize its aviation infrastructure, India has invested more than ₹96,000 crore in airport development and upgrades over the past five years, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol informed Parliament on Thursday.

This substantial capital expenditure, spanning from fiscal year 2019-20 to 2024-25, was incurred by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and various public-private partnerships. The AAI contributed over ₹25,000 crore of this total, with the remainder coming from private airport developers.

Mohol detailed that the AAI's funding largely comes from its internal resources, supplemented by a ₹4,500 crore budgetary grant for reviving underserved airports under Phase I of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-UDAN). An additional ₹1,000 crore has been allocated for Phase II of the scheme to revive more airports, heliports, and water aerodromes.

The minister also provided a breakdown of the annual capital expenditures:

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  FY 2020-21: ₹11,742 crore

  
  


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  FY 2021-22: ₹13,294 crore

  
  


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  FY 2022-23: ₹17,879 crore

  
  


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  FY 2023-24: ₹19,260 crore

  
  


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  FY 2024-25: ₹19,317 crore

  
  

These investments have supported a wide range of projects, including the construction of new airports, the expansion and modification of existing terminals, the strengthening of runways and aprons, and the addition of new passenger amenities. Significant projects have been completed at major airports in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, as well as new greenfield airports in Mopa, Navi Mumbai, Noida (Jewar), and Ayodhya. Projects have also been undertaken at numerous other airports across the country, including Chennai, Lucknow, Kolkata, and more.

According to Mohol, the continuous process of modernizing airports is driven by factors such as traffic demand, commercial viability, and the availability of land.