The downturn in the aviation industry has not discouraged real estate companies, flying academies and large industrial houses from India eyeing private airport development.
Real estate and infrastructure firms like Super Airport Infrastructure, General Aviation Airfield and Infrastructure, Anant Raj Industries, Adarsh Prime Projects and Aero Ports and Infrastructure Projects Pvt Limited have submitted proposals to the government to build airports at various remote parts of the country.
These include Karaikal in Puducherry, Paladi Ramsinghpur in Rajasthan, Saswad in Pune and Pernem in Goa.
Apart from these, a proposal for an airport at Dabra, Gwalior to be built by Gwalior Agriculture Company is also under the ministry's consideration. Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited, which is developing the first private airport at Durgapur, has also sent a proposal for an airport at Ludhiana.
These are apart from biggies like Reliance Airport Developers, which has submitted a proposal for an airport in Singhrauli near Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, where it is building a 4,000 Mw power project, apart from the cargo airport at Jhajjar in Haryana.
Anant Raj Industries for instance, apart from commercial construction, is also involved in constructing special economic zones, hotels and IT parks. The firm has tied up with Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance ADAG to set up two hotels and an SEZ project together.
Super Airport, which has conducted a feasibility study, expects to rope in non-resident Indians for Karaikal, which has a temple as the major attraction. Rajasthan Aero Sports, which is a flying academy, is also planning to set a private airport in Paladi-Ramsinghpur.
The civil aviation ministry has received five such airport proposals for captive use. Another five proposals are for airports that will be put to public use.
The government had recently announced a greenfield airport policy under which all such proposals would be routed through the steering committee set up by the ministry of civil aviation to give quicker clearances.
"The private-use airports will be built on a much smaller scale, but the airports for public use will be mid-sized, which will be able to handle aircraft like the A320s, if not bigger ones," said a civil aviation ministry official.
A recent status report on various greenfield airports by the ministry said the proposals are at various stages of consideration.
Airports Authority of India, the country's public sector airport developer, has already conducted the mandatory site inspection for Karaikal and Dabra.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has given in-principal approval to the airport proposed at Pernem. Other proposals like the ones for private use at Paladi-Ramsinghpur, Saswad (Pune), Sonepat (Haryana), and one at Adarsh Palm Retreat, Bangalore, are still under consideration.
Apart from these private airports, there are several state government proposals for airports at Chakan and Sindhdurg in Maharashtra, which are awaiting in-principal approval.
Last year, the Karnataka government awarded the Simoga airport to a consortium of Maytas Infrastructure (promoted by the promoters of IT services group Satyam) and VIE India Project Development and Holding LLC.
The state government had also awarded the work for developing a greenfield airport in Hassan to Jupiter Aviation and Logistics Ltd.