The Government plans to develop 10 to 15 greenfield airports, Civil Aviation Minster Ajit Singh said on Monday.

Addressing the 49th conference of Director-General of Civil Aviation, Asia-Pacific region, the Minister said there were also plans to modernise about 50 non-metro airports in the next two years.

Singh said to accommodate the growing air traffic, India had undertaken initiatives to modernise and upgrade existing airports and develop new greenfield airports through a mixed strategy of public sector, private sector, joint venture and public-private partnership.

Accepting that the challenges of dealing with growth and environment were huge, the Minister said India was trying to deal with this in a mature manner.

“We need the support of developed countries, financially as well as technologically, to address environmental concerns without depriving Indian people of the economic benefits of air transport. India would seek support of all the members to help create a level playing field for the new developing states in the international civil aviation arena.

Air India salaries being paid

Later, speaking to the media, the Minister said that Air India employees were being paid although the salaries may be late.

On Kingfisher, he said that any action would depend on how the airline addressed the concerns raised by the airline regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

>ashwini.phadnis@thehindu.co.in

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