The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is set to acquire a 51% stake in the Dholera International Airport (DIAC), 80km from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Funding is expected to accelerate construction of the DIAC.
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Dholera Industrial City Development managing director Jai Prakash Shivahare was reported by Financial Express as saying that AAI will be inducted on the board of DIAC at its upcoming board meeting in December.
After completion of the transaction, AAI will own a 51% stake while the Gujarat Government will hold 33%. The central government will have a 16% share in the airport through the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC).
The first phase of airport construction will cost approximately Rs20bn ($283.51m) and is likely to start in the first quarter of 2020.
Located in the northern Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), the Dholera International Airport will serve the needs of DSIR, as well as traffic overflow from Ahmedabad airport.
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By GlobalDataCovering 1,426ha, the airport will feature two runways to manage wide-bodied long-haul planes such as the A380.
The airport will construct a 3,000m long runway, a terminal building, and other facilities. It will be able to handle 1.1 million to 5.5 million passengers per annum by 2029.
Shivahare told the publication that the DIAC will construct a 4,000m-long second runway in the second phase, which is subject to the passenger traffic growth.
The second phase will be designed to enable the airport to manage 6.5 million to 12.5 million travellers a year until 2035.
Plans are also being considered for the third phase of expansion to serve 13.8 million to 25.8 million passengers per annum by 2044.
The decision to construct the airport through a public-private partnership (PPP) model or via a cash contract will be taken by the AAI in due course.
Shivahare went on to say that plans for an aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility are also being considered.
Shivahare added: “Obviously, the first requirement is to have a functional airport for passenger movement. We will look at the setting up the MRO shortly thereafter.”
