Competition led to 30% airfare drop in India: Ashok Gajapathi Raju
The Union Civil Aviation Ministry’s role in ensuring competition between commercial airline companies, along with fall in oil prices globally, led to a drop in air fares by as much as 30 per cent, a minister said on Saturday. “If we are looking at the country as a whole, then average airfares have actually fallen by 30 per cent,” Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Saturday. “Now, a large part of that is due to fall in oil prices, but the significant part of that is also due to increase of competition and that is where the Ministry comes,” Raju said at a press conference at a resort in South Goa’s Benaulim village, about 50 kms from here. “But the Ministry has a lot of role in ensuring competition and as all of us know, wherever there is good competition, the benefit will then pass on to the flying public and I am happy to tell you 30 per cent reduction in average air fares in the last two years,” Raju also said. A.J. Green Jersey
43 unused airports to be operationalised soon: Aviation Secy
In a move aimed at boosting the regional connectivity across the country, the Union Civil Aviation ministry today said that 43 unused airports would be operationalised within a year. “The main idea behind operationalising these 43 unused airports is to improve the connectivity to the hinterland. Proposals have already been received from 11 bidders who will put these airports into commercial operations,” Union Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey told reporters in South Goa. He was briefing media in presence of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju after inaugurating the three-day workshop on indigenously developed software aiding to manage revenue in the sky. Choubey said at present their are 72 airports and addition of these 43 will change the scenario in the Indian skies. “It will take another 15-20 days to award the routes for the airlines, who will take somewhere between one to six months to start the operations at these newly inducted facilities,” he added. Fixing a rate cap for the fares at these newly inducted airports, the ministry has decided that flying to these facilities would not cost more than Rs 2,500 for an hour long flight. “These unused airports which are taken up for revival are evenly distributed across the country,” Choubey said adding, of these ten are in the Southern region. Choubey said that various initiatives taken up by the Ministry coupled with dip in the international oil prices has resulted in reduction of airfare by almost 30 per cent. Brooks Laich Jersey
Dabolim facility will not be shut down: Ashok Gajapathi Raju
The Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today made it clear that the Dabolim facility would not be shut down after the commissioning of new greenfield airport at Mopa as it was required to handle the increasing number of passengers flying to the coastal state. “The national growth rate in the number of fliers is 20-odd per cent per year. The rate for Goa is above the national average at 30 per cent. If you interact with the passengers at Dabolim airport, you will know that the existing airport is congested,” Raju told reporters in South Goa here. The minister, who faced a volley of questions on possibility of closure of Dabolim airport after commissioning of Mopa facility, shot back stating “If this trend of 30 per cent growth continues, then Goa airport will be choked.” “Do you want Goa to choke or you want Goa to grow? I think that Goa should grow. If you are getting an opportunity to grow, then why not. Nobody is shutting down any airport,” said the minister. Raju said the new Mopa airport would be functional in three years, by May 2020. “Goa deserves another airport. The new airport is feasible, if it was not feasible why would the private party invest money?” he added. The minister further informed that the facilities at the existing Dabolim airport are being upgraded. “The existing Dabolim airport is owned by military but airport authority has civil enclave, airport authority is making investment close to Rs 300 crore including Rs 90 crore for taxi bay, which will decongest the runway. Nobody thought of ever shutting it down,” said the minister. Ishmaa’ily Kitchen Authentic Jersey
Domestic air traffic in Jan up 25% at 95.8 lakh passengers
The domestic airlines flew 95.79 lakh passengers in January this year, registering a growth of 25.13 per cent over the 76.55 lakh passengers flown during the same period previously. The latest data released by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation shows that IndiGo carried the maximum number of passengers during the month at 38.09 lakh, followed by Jet Airways (14.84 lakh), with Air India in the number three spot with 13.5 lakh passengers. SpiceJet flew 12.29 lakh, while GoAir carried (7.88 lakh), Vistara (3.03 lakh) and AirAsia 2 .86 lakh passengers during January this year. SpiceJet, however, reported the highest Passenger Load Factor of 93.6 per cent, followed by GoAir (90.8 per cent) and IndiGo (90 per cent). The passenger load factor shows how many of the total seats on offer by each airline were getting filled SpiceJet also reported the highest On Time Performance at 71.6 per cent, followed by IndiGo 71.2 per cent and GoAir (60.6 per cent) at the four metro airports of Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Stacy McGee Jersey
Airports body clears parallel taxiway second phase at Mangaluru airport
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved the construction of the second phase of the part-parallel taxiway at Mangaluru International Airport. The AAI has placed the work order, amounting to ?98 crore, to PBI Construction Company. JT Radhakrishna, Airport Director, Mangaluru International Airport, said that the works on the second phase of the parallel taxiway are likely to be completed in 30 months. The first phase of 1,200-metre stretch of the taxiway has already been completed. On starting operation on that taxiway, he said they are waiting for the clearance from DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) for this. In the second phase, the taxiway will be extended by another 1,200 metres. He said that the additional taxiway helps in the long run when the number of flights increases in the airport. It is very important for the movement of flights on the ground, he said. Taxiway is the stretch or the track that connects the runway with the apron (parking lot for aircraft) in the terminal building. With the construction of the parallel taxiway, aircraft could move from the parking stand, wait in the additional taxiway and enter the runway for take-off immediately after the plane that has landed exits the runway. Andrej Sekera Jersey
Regional air connectivity to bring down cost of flying to Rs 2,500 an hour: Sinha
The regional air connectivity scheme, UDAN, will see the number of operational airports in the country shoot up by over 50, while the cost of travelling will come down to as low as Rs. 2,500 up to an hour of journey (via air). According to Jayant Sinha, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, there are 75 operational small airports in the country and this number will increase to “over 125” with the successful implementation of UDAN (acronym for Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) – the new scheme through which the government hopes to make flying to Tier-II and III cities viable. “We are building new airports, adding new terminals. We are improving the efficiency of existing terminals. The regional connectivity scheme will see us go from 75 operational airports to over 125,” the minister told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the Momentum Jharkhand Global Investors’ Summit. “We have significantly stepped up investments in airports,” he added, pointing out that Jamshedpur was one such region that was proposed to be connected through UDAN. Drawing a reference to Jharkhand, the minister said “in a year or two” the Centre will be able to connect all major cities of the state. “Our goal is to provide connectivity to all of India’s major cities,” the minister maintained. Affordable pricing With traffic growing by over 20 per cent, there will obviously be “capacity constraints” but the Centre is taking all possible actions to ensure decongestion and utilisation of existing capacities. According to Sinha, the cost of flying is coming down because of technology. And if oil prices remain at “reasonable levels’, it would be one of the cheapest modes of transport after Railways. “Viability gap funding will enable us to offer seats at Rs. 2,500 up to an hour of flight. So it will be very affordable,” he said. Private airliners, Sinha maintained, will obviously take a call on the routes depending on commercial viability. And the introduction of viability gap funding will only boost connectivity, making many more routes viable. Tech Disruption Disruption in mass transport is also on the cards with companies such as Hyperloop proposing new-age rapid transit options. Asked whether such proposals might lead to disruptions in regional air connectivity schemes, Sinha said these technologies are still “futuristic” and yet to see “mass adoption”. “These are futuristic technologies that (are) decades away from being adopted in the mass market. We welcome innovations and new futuristic technologies. But regional connectivity will be available very soon,” he added. Johnny Hekker Authentic Jersey
NHAI seeks early High Court order to open bids for NH-24 widening
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has approached the Delhi high court for its early order on a petition, which has held up awarding of work to widen a crucial portion of NH-24, the main highway connecting Delhi with Uttar Pradesh. Delhi HC had held the final hearing in December on the petition filed by a road developer, who was disqualified by NHAI during the bidding process for the stretch between Delhi Border and Dasna. But the court has reserved the order. The 19.3 km stretch is the most congested and passes through residential and commercial areas such as Indirapuram and sector-62, Noida. To realize the ambitious widening of road from the Nizamuddin Bridge to Hapur, NHAI has divided the entire stretch into three sections for faster execution. While Nizamuddin Bridge to Dasna stretch will be made 14-lane, Dasna to Hapur stretch will be converted into six-lane. While the works on Nizamuddin Bridge to Delhi Border and Dasna to Hapur have already started, the remaining portion – Delhi Border to Dasna stretch is yet to be awarded. It has been delayed several times in the past 13 months because of lukewarm response from the bidders. Melvin Ingram Authentic Jersey
Govt weighs whether to auction or award road projects to ADIA
The government is contemplating whether to award operational highway projects to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in a government-to-government (G2G) deal or to auction them. The ministry of road transport and highways wants to auction the road projects identified under the Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) model, aimed to monetize India’s public funded national highways. Under the TOT model, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to lease as many as 75 national highway projects, which are operational and have been generating toll revenues for at least two years. “The road ministry along with NHAI have already given their comments for a concessionaire agreement,” said a government official, requesting anonymity. ADIA is the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi. G2G deals are struck to reduce the prolonged transaction process, a case in point being India’s decision to buy Rafale fighter jets off-the-shelf from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation SA. “ADIA is very keen on a G2G deal for TOT projects. As per the negotiations, ADIA may get the project but the agreement that is to be signed will be a critical thing. Tomorrow, for example, if the road is to be augmented from four-lane to six-lane who will do it, who will bear the expenses, what will be ADIA’s rights and obligations? They agree to do maintenance but in case of major repairs who will bear the expenses? All these things need to be sorted out before going ahead with any such G2G deals,” the official added. Under the TOT model, the right of collection of user fee or toll in respect of selected operational NH stretches constructed through public funding is proposed to be assigned for a specific time period to developers and investors against upfront payment of a lump-sum amount to the government. Further, during the tenure of the contract, the operation and maintenance responsibility would remain with the assigned developer. Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport and highways, favours the auction route. “Such an interest was expressed but we would prefer a tendering process to keep transparency,” Gadkari said, declining to elaborate further. The Economic Times in February last year reported about ADIA expressing interest in taking up 50 highway projects on TOT basis. “ADIA wants the projects to be awarded under a G2G deal on a negotiated basis,” said a government official aware of the development, requesting anonymity. This comes in the backdrop of the government stepping up its engagement with the energy-rich nation. India hosted Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the chief guest at its 68th Republic Day annual parade. India and the United Arab Emirates signed as many as 14 bilateral agreements to deepen economic and strategic cooperation. “Awarding projects through the negotiated route is an option provided it follows the principle of transparency and the route is used to discover the right price. Also, G2G negotiations are qualitatively on a better footing,” said Vishwas Udgirkar, partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. While an ADIA spokesperson declined to comment, queries emailed to India’s ministries of roads and surface transport, external affairs and NHAI on 27 January remained unanswered. ADIA and other investors such as Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan had earlier evinced interest in brownfield road assets. In 2015, the UAE agreed to invest as much as $75 billion in infrastructure projects in the country during a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August. However, the pact aiming to put together the administrative structure for the management of funds from the ADIA and India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund is yet to materialize. Jon Weeks Jersey
Govt’s push for highway projects likely to benefit road developers
Several road builders including Sadbhav Infrastructure Project Ltd, PNC Infratech Ltd, Ashoka Buildcon Ltd, and NCC Ltd are expected to benefit from the increased budgetary allocation to India’s national highways, analysts and companies said. The government in its Union budget on 1 February announced an allocation of Rs64,900 crore for the construction of national highways for fiscal year 2017-18, up from about Rs58,000 crore for FY 2016-17; and maintained allocation to the roads sector under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) at Rs27,000 crore. Road developer Ashoka Buildcon is expecting its order book to rise to Rs8,000 crore in fiscal year 2018 from Rs5,000 crore in the current fiscal and expects execution to rise by 25-30% year-on-year, managing director Satish Parakh said. “The allocation for national highways will likely be used very efficiently by the ministry. Execution is expected to pick up pace this year as projects will be under the new land acquisition act,” Parakh said. Hyderabad-based NCC Ltd, too, expects an increase in the number of awards in the new fiscal. “For NCC, roads remain a major component of our business, but we will bid very carefully on the basis of fundamentals without sacrificing the margins. The pace of order allocation is likely to improve further based on the Union budget,” said Y.D. Murthy, executive vice-president of finance, NCC. Higher allocation towards roads and highways will be a positive for road engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) firms such as KNR Constructions Ltd, Sadbhav, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd and J Kumar Infraprojects, according to Angel Broking’s post-budget report. The allocation will be a positive for road developers and EPC contractors as it would translate to higher road awarding and construction, IIFL Wealth Management said in its report on 2 February. “The pace of construction of PMGSY roads has accelerated to reach 133km roads per day in 2016-17, as against an average of 73km during the period 2011-2014 and a further outlay of Rs27,000 crore will boost the rural road construction project of the government,” brokerage firm KR Choksey said in a post-budget report. The Modi-led government’s thrust on speeding up construction of highways means that these companies stand to win increased business. In the past year, the government has also been pushing for the hybrid annuity model, where it will share 40% of the project cost and allocate funds to the developer to start work. Owing to highly leveraged balance sheets in the sector, only a handful of developers such as IRB Infrastructure, Sadbhav Infrastructure and IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd continue to bid for projects under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model.Several other large companies such as Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) prefer projects under the government-funded EPC model. In the BOT model, the developer builds the project with its own money, operates it for a specified period and transfers it to the government. “While there is increase in budget allocation for roads and highways sector by 12% for FY 2017-18, that is much below the average annual increase of around 33% during the last three years… Less increase in allocation for national highways would mean that private sector investment under PPP (public private partnership) would be an important source of finance,” according to Vikash Kumar Sharda, director of capital projects and infrastructure at PwC. Jake DeBrusk Womens Jersey
India may meet its energy needs from moon by 2030
India may be able to meet all its energy requirements from resources on the moon by 2030, a scientist associated with the ISRO said on Saturday. Sivathanu Pillai, a distinguished professor at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said here that India’s all energy requirements can be met through Helium-3 mined from the moon. “By 2030, this process target will be met,” Pillai said while delivering the valedictory address at the three-day ORF-Kalpana Chawla Space Policy Dialogue, organised by Observer Research Foundation. Pillai, a former chief of BrahMos Aerospace, said mining lunar dust, which is rich in Helium-3 is a priority programme for the ISRO. According to an ORF release, Pillai said other countries are also working on the project and there is enough helium on the moon, which can meet the energy requirements of the world. “In a few decades, people will be going to the moon for honey-moon,” Pillai quipped. Lt. Gen. P.M. Bali, Director General, Perspective Planning, Indian Army, said the launch of GSAT-7, India’s first dedicated military satellite, is a testimony to the country’s outlook towards using the outer space for national security. He noted that India possesses one of the largest constellations of communication and remote sensing satellites covering Asia Pacific. Lt. Gen. Bali said although India continues with a civilian orientation to its space programme, the changing regional and global realities require it to also develop military assets in space and on ground as an emerging regional and global power. He said there is a need for a dedicated military space programme with adequate resources at its disposal because of “the changing realities in our neighbourhood”. Joe Montana Womens Jersey