Capacity enhancement needed at most of airports: ICRA

New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) The country's air traffic growth in over last two years has led to most airports operating at near full capacity, raising the urgent need for capacity expansion in the country, domestic rating agency ICRA said on Thursday.

"The annual capacity (terminal building capacity) of the operational airports in India is estimated at 270-290 million passengers. Against this, the total passenger traffic for FY2017 is estimated to be around 265 million, translating into capacity utilisation of more than 90 per cent," said Harsh Jagnani, Vice President and Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA.

"While the situation varies across the airports, the larger or busier airports face acute capacity constraints, with some of them operating above full capacity. This highlights the urgent need for capacity enhancement at most of the airports in the country."

According to the rating agency, it is estimated that by FY 2022, the air traffic in the country would exceed 450 million passengers.

"This means that the country would need to double its existing capacity over the next five years," the rating agency said in a statement.

"This is estimated to require capital expenditure to the tune of Rs 1.4 lakh crore over the next five years as against the estimated capex (capital expenditure) of Rs 52,000 crore undertaken in the past 10 years."

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