“Chennai is not there in the privatisation list. Don’t worry”, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Thursday.
“Before the general elections, a proposal on privatisation of 11 airports was given. It is there with the Cabinet, which has to decide. It is lying at that stage”, he told newspersons at the Chennai airport. He was here to launch the Udan Yatri Cafe at the International airport.
Privatisation
“When there is privatisation, there is some improvement in services also. The Ministry is trying to work out a model to balance. There is an inflow of investment also. Right now, we are trying to build more airports. Now for Airports Authority of India (AAI), we are building airports in locations where there is no viability. So, it is a lot of burden for AAI also,” he said.
“Passenger capacity needs to be increased. When there is a stress financially, it helps a little bit when you are trying, and it is not exactly privatisation. We are just leasing the operations of the airport. The land is still with the Central government only. We only have the land. It is just the operations for a certain period of time. We are telling them that someone will come in and do the operations there. And in that if he can bring in more money to give better services it ultimately helps the passenger only,” he said.
Chennai Airport
When asked if Chennai will be considered for the new model once all the construction works are completed, the minister categorically said, “No, no, see this one [Chennai] we are keeping it very close to our heart. We want to better the services here ourselves only. So, we are trying to do our best in Chennai airport.”
“Chennai, which is the fourth largest airport and a very important airport for the AAI and is like the gateway of the East. “So, definitely we have to put a lot of focus on more development of this airport,” he said.
“We have T1, and T4, which also handling domestic passengers. We are trying to enhance the capacity. Right now, we have around 22 million annual capacity. We can have the opportunity to take it up to 35 million,” he said. “We have to seamlessly do efficient construction of the other terminal buildings and operations, so that more passenger capacity can be handled from the Chennai airport, “ he added.
“So, with that process we are going to keep Chennai Airport as a top most priority from our side and we are going to ensure that in future also any issues that come up here are going to be tackled on a real time basis,” he said. The Terminal 3 constriction would be completed by March 2026, he added.
Petty issues
To a question on petty issues like access to parking slot affecting Chennai airport’s image, the minister said, “one of the main reasons for me to come here is to review these petty issues only. Because, for passengers, they are the most priority issues. We want very comfortable and convenient travel for the passengers right from parking to boarding. Even if it is the smallest of the issues, we are going to ensure that we find a solution for it. If there is anything with the state government, we would request their support also in getting it done,” he said.
Cargo
On issues related to cargo handling at Chennai airport, the minister said, “We want more cargo to happen. Chennai is a very good hub for industrial production also. And we are going to see that seamlessly in the future also. It’s going to happen.”