AAI plans regulations for flexible use of land assets

Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to put in place regulations for flexible use of land parcels as part of asset monetisation efforts, as it prepares for large scale upgradation of airport infrastructure.

The national airports operator, which manages 125 aerodromes including civil enclaves, is awaiting amendments to to the AAI Act that would allow effective monetisation of land assets.

Sources said the proposal to amend the Act whereby certain provisions would be included with respect to land assets and their utilisation has already been floated.

In this regard, a draft Cabinet note has already been circulated for inter-ministerial consultations and the process is at a "very advanced stage".

An amendment to an Act has to be approved by the Parliament.

AAI owns around 55,000 hectares of land in urban areas across the country. Under the current norms, airport land could be used only for limited purposes.

According to sources, once the Act is amended AAI would make its own regulations on flexible use of land. Having those norms would also help in expediting the overall approval process, they added.

"Flexible use of land needs to be allowed as the market conditions as well as utilisation patterns are dynamic and needs to be reviewed at least every ten years," a senior AAI official said. Already, the land assets are being monetised at some airports including at New Delhi and Mumbai –both of which are run by consortiums with AAI being a stakeholder.