>From sify.com: Aviation: Budget allocation to go up
Sunday, 16 January , 2005, 13:21 New Delhi: Aviation experts have called for increase in budget allocation for the civil aviation sector and said short-term measures need to be initiated immediately before Delhi and Mumbai airports are privatised to cope with the burgeoning passenger traffic. At present, only one per cent of the union budget is earmarked for the aviation sector. This must be raised to five per cent, said Saroj Datta, executive director of Jet Airways, the country's largest private carrier. Referring to various government levies on air turbine fuel, he said taxes on the aviation sector should not be used for subsidising other sectors. ''Aviation is an engine for tourism growth. Worldwide, air transport drives economic growth with multiplier effect in terms of increased employment and development of ancillary industries.'' Travel and tourism is the biggest industry globally that provides 200 million jobs and contributes 3,500 billion dollars -- or 10 per cent -- to the world's gross domestic product (GDP), Datta said while addressing an industry seminar here yesterday. Werner Hessen, director for Lufthansa German Airlines' south Asia operations, said travel demand in India is battling aviation infrastructure. ''Airports in big cities are already in middle of a crisis. We've seen a lot of talk in the air but people are nervous and anxious. Sometimes, hundreds of passengers share just one lounge at an airport. Other times, it takes one-and-a-half hours to get pass an immigration counter.'' Hessen said India contributes 17 per cent to the world population but only 0.02 per cent to the global aviation industry. H.S. Khola, former director general of civil aviation, said the government must quickly appoint a regulator after announcing the new aviation policy. Unless rules and regulations are clear, he said, foreign investors would remain reluctant to put funds in joint venture projects and greenfield ventures. Delhi and Mumbai airports are virtually choking with rush of air travellers, said Khola who is also advisor to the United Nations on aviation matters, adding authorities must initiate short-term measures, as privatisation will take three to five years. Unprecedented rise in domestic air travel in the past 12 months (up from 15 million to over 17 million), opening up of the international skies for domestic airlines, sharp rise in international arrivals (2.8 million to 3.7 million) and outbound traffic (4.8 million to 5.4 million) has shaken the aviation industry out of its reverie. But the airports infrastructure remains pathetically poor. For Delhi and Mumbai -- the country's busiest airports -- the government has decided on raising 74 per cent of the investment through the private sector with a maximum of 49 per cent foreign direct investment. Nine bidders have been shortlisted and the entire bidding process is likely to be complete by March. Last year, Mumbai handled 13.3 million passengers and Delhi about 10.5 million. Besides, 30 non-metro airports are being upgraded. Work on Bangalore and Hyderabad greenfield airport projects is being speeded up. ------------ Ribandar