<Multi-airport system will benefit the sector Robey Lal Today, the delays and inconvenience to users due to constraints on airport and terminal capacity have resulted in proposals for multi-airport systems to serve select metropolitan regions, especially in Mumbai and Delhi, gaining ground. But the expansion plans may well be insufficient in the long term. Therefore, second airport proposals for these, as well as for Kolkata and Chennai, and new civil airports to serve Goa and Pune are on the table-all with private involvement. The need, therefore, appears to be for careful attention to be paid while providing and planning multi-airport systems....In addition to capacity enhancement, second or more airports are also provided for other reasons. For example, when the first airport faces insurmountable technical constraints, or when surface accessibility makes separating military and civil operations a problem, or for high-volume specialised airports to serve low-cost carriers or cargo, or for the worst of all reasons: political expediency....**A civilian airport in Goa, to separate it from the naval airbase and provide round-the-clock operability, is a must for growth of the state's tourist Economy. The state government and business interests ought to see that delaying such an airport can result in denying the economic expansion of a major industry.**...Thus, as the necessity for second, or alternate, airports become evident and the role of the government in airport development gives way to new paradigms of privatised airport development, some policy issues need attention. They include developers ensuring that forecasts of traffic and consequent capital investments are prudently done. While too many airports in a region can result in all airports becoming economically unviable, planning can provide for niche market airports.>
Note that buried in this article is a plug for (ostensibly) a "second airport" in Goa. But it is not clear if there is sufficient appreciation of the skewed dynamics prevailing in civil enclaves which severely vitiate their potential in such systems. Thus it should have been emphasised that Goa needs a second airport while ensuring that the civil enclave remains open. Currently a hasty Union Cabinet resolution of 2000 mandates closure of the latter when the former comes on stream. Superficially the article is about multi-airport systems but at its core it is about 'new' airports which lead to closure of civil enclaves operating at full stretch and exarcebating the airport shortage problem it seeks to address. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spread the Christmas Cheer, even when you're not here! Send classic greetings to your loved ones in Goa. EXPRESSIONS - 2007 Christmas Hamper Visit http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/xmas/ Or e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
