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TERMINAL BUILDING AT GUWAHATI AIRPORT DEDICATED TO THE NATION
New Delhi~ July 3, 2001
Following is the text of the speech of the Civil Aviation Minister Shri Sharad Yadav:
It gives me great pleasure to be present here on the memorable occasion of unveiling the statue of Late Lokopriya Gopinath Bodoiol at the only international airport In the North Eastern Region at Guwahati which has been named after him and dedication of the new Terminal building of this airport to the nation. I pay my respect to the cherished memory of the beloved son of Assam.
The people of Assam owe a lot to late Lokapriya Gopinath Bofdoloi the great Premier of Assam. He did his utmost to bring about an alt round improvement of the Stale. He brought the people of hills and plains into closer interaction and harmony. For his selfless contribution to the development of Assam he was fondly called "Lokapriya". Let us bow our heads as a mark of respect for the great soul and get united in making his dreams come true. Airports Authority of India has upgraded Guwahati airport as model airport with all modem navigational, aeronautical and passenger facilities. The replacement of existing ILS with new System has also been completed The newly completed terminal building costing Rs-27 crores is capable of handling 1500 passengers at a time. tt will be fully air conditioned soon. The airport has also been declared as International airport in the month of May 2000 and efforts are being made to start international flights from this airport. So far no airline has shown Interest to touch
this point- I have been trying very hard and these are standing Instructions to my officials that whenever there are bilateral discussions with other countries they should Insist on taking Guwahati as a Point of Call for their airlines. I am taking personal interest for the North East region. Cargo operations have also been started in a modest way. The existing runway has been strengthened at a cost of Rs.22 crores. This airport has been provided with the State-of- the-art navigational and communication facilities including radars covering the air space of North East region at a
cost of Rs.30 crores. The whole of North East Including Assam is full of natural beauty and there are a number of tourist places.
However due to difficult terrain the means of communication are limited. Therefore there is a need for Improvement in airport infrastructure and air services in this area. This will also improve the economy of this region. We can't Just ignore this aspect just beciiuse of the non-viability of providing these services. We have to find ways and means for financing these improvements in airport infrastructure. Airports Authority of India
with the help of North Eastern Council has taken up airport development work in all the States of North Eastern Region with an outlay of about Rs.260 crores in the 9th Five Year Plan Period- New Terminal buildings have been constructed and put into operation at Guwahati, Silchar, Imphal. Dimapur
Tezpur and Tura. Similarly new terminal buildings are under construction at North Lakhimpur and Agartala at a cost of about 33 crores. The runway at Agartala airport is being extended to 7500 ft- at a cost of Rs.22 crores- At Imphal and Dimapura airports also the runways are being strengthened at a cost of Rs.25 crores. In Mizoram the entire building of Airport will be ready in the next month while coated R.s-98 crores. The total cost of projects which are on going at present In the North East is Rs-187 crores-That shows that my Ministry and also the North Eastern Council are committed to strengthen the economy of the region. The navigational aids are being provided at Guwahati, Olbrugarh, Agartala and Imphal and other airports to facilitate all weather operations and improving safety.
Airports Authority of India is set to spend around Ks. 600 crores during the financial year as against last year to the tune of Rs.400 crores for evelopment of various airports in the country. We have a growing economy and therefore the Government te encouraging private participation in the development of airport Infrastructure Out of 122 airports only 10 airports are profitable and pest others aro toss making. Our Authority is making all efforts in bringing our airports to advanced standards by keeping in mind the security and safety of the aircraft whether on ground or in the air and also the airports. 1 do not want to repeat here about the major achievements that have taken place during the regime of our Government in the field of civil aviation which I had mentioned in my address at Tejpur yesterday.
Provision of airport infrastructure by itself is not sufficient. What is required is to provide air services to these airports. It is a fact that due to various factors like high fuel cost low subsidized fares non-viability of night landing operations due to terrain provision of air services has been uneconomic in this region. Due to this different airlines do not want to cover this region. Therefore Government has made it mandatory for airlines to deploy 10% of the capacity In the major trunk routes to the airports in the North Eastern States. To make the operations viable Government has also exempted airlines from payment of Inland Air Travel Tax foi and Sahara Airlines are also deploying 10% of trunk repute capacity and connecting 4 stations in the North East. There are a total of 75 operations within North East. It has also been decided that Air Turbine Fuel for Turboprop operations would be made available at international price with a gap of 4% on sales tax. Indian Airlines is deploying 17% of its trunk route capacity against the minimum requirement of 10% only. it is connecting 9 stations. Jet and Sahara Airlines are also deploying 10% of trunk route capacity and connecting 4 stations in the North East. There are a total of 75 services per week out of which Indian Airlines undertakes 47 services per week. Indian Airlines has been Incurring losses since many years for its operation in the North East region.
Only last year the toss was Rs &4cronas. Our Government le committed to serve the people of North East at fine cost the fares of Indian Airlines are 25% less
than the other sectors of operation. Recently I met some of the North Eastern MPs. to find ways and means tor giving better connectivity to these areas. The problem cannot be sorted out for giving connectivity unless we make addition of ATRs into our fleet Therefore Alliance Air - a subsidiary of Indian Airlines has been directed 10 induct six 50 sealer ATRs on lease which are expected In the beginninei of year 2002. It is proposed to operate 2 aircraft in the North East with base at Kolkata. It is also proposed to set up a base in Guwahati at a later date. These aircraft will replace Booing 737 in the North East. 50 seater operation will provide Increased connectivity from Guwahati and Increase in the frequency to various destination In North East.
I wish to congratulate Slate Government of Assam, North Eastern Council Airports Authority of India for their continuous efforts in pursuing this project. I once again congratulate the people of North East as a whole that they are being provided with necassary Infrastructure in the area of Civil Aviation which wilt promote the economy of the region by way of tourism and
trade.
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