AAI earmarks ₹19,000-cr for aviation infrastructure

Looking to upgrade India's airport infrastructure, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to invest about ₹19,000 crore in the next couple of years, claimed official sources. The investment is being made to improve runway capacity as well as building the terminals’ capacity. Currently, AAI manages 125 airports, including 11 international aerodromes and is adding 273 parking bays at 24 airports. The slots are evenly distributed across the country - with about 82 in the south, 70 in the east and northeast, 61 in the north and 60 in the western parts of the country. Airports in Chennai and Kolkata will also see an upgrade. New airports are coming up in Gujarat's Rajkot, Jharkhand's Dhalbhumgarh and in Hollongi and Halwara in the northeast. AAI had signed a pact with Boeing to jointly develop a comprehensive 10- year roadmap for modernizing air traffic management across the country.