India’s ‘ghost’ airports highlight risks for Modi

JAISALMER, India, Aug 19, (RTRS): Two−and−a−half years after the completion of a new $17 million terminal building, the airport in Jaisalmer, a small and remote desert city in India´s western Rajasthan state, stands empty.

Not a single passenger has passed through the gates of an airport big enough to handle more than 300,000 travellers a year, with parking bays for three 180−seater narrow−body jets.

India has spent more than $50 mil− lion since 2009 on eight airports that do not receive scheduled flights ˙ white elephants that are a reminder of the pitfalls for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he bets on an infrastructure drive to fuel growth.

India´s main hubs, meanwhile, are bursting at the seams, slowing air− lines´ ability to expand in a vast country where they should be sup− porting economic growth.

ˆThey (the government) need to realise it´s not a case of `build the air− port and we will come´,˜ said Sanjiv Kapoor, chief operating officer at SpiceJet Ltd. The private sector airline last year ceased flying to a new airport in the southern Indian city of Mysore because of insufficient demand.

India´s ghost terminals were built largely by the previous government, which planned 200 `no frills´ air− ports, encouraged by rising air travel and the need to connect far−flung regions.

But the empty check−in desks and cavernous baggage halls highlight the risks for Modi, too, of catering to powerful regional bosses and spend− ing without a unifying strategy.

China´s investment splurge has left dozens of similar ghost projects.

The civil aviation ministry declined to comment on whether Modi´s government would stick with the 200 airport growth plan. But the incentive to grow in less−developed regions remains: on Tuesday, Modi pledged 27 billion rupees ($413 mil− lion) for four new airports in the impoverished state of Bihar, which holds elections this year.

ˆThe AAI (Airports Authority of India) has invested in some airports without any economic logic,˜ said Kapil Kaul, Delhi−based chief execu− tive at consultancy Centre for Aviation (CAPA).

ˆEvery state government wants to have a big airport, but you have to look at it from a national perspective and say where do we need airports, where is the demand and the growth coming from?˜ he said.

Across India, more than half of the 100−odd domestic−only airports oper− ated by AAI have not seen a sched− uled flight this year, official data shows, though some are older air− ports designed primarily for char− tered planes.

The AAI did not respond to requests for comment.

The rush to build comes as passen− ger numbers grow 20 percent a year, to 38.8 million in the first half of 2015, leaving India´s major airports, which account for four−fifths of traf− fic, saturated.

Plans for a second hub in financial capital Mumbai are years behind schedule while the government has struggled to privatise four large air− ports to fund their expansion.

This means airlines cannot widen their networks to places like Jaisalmer dependent on feeder traffic from the gateways.

In the huge sunlit expanse of Jaisalmer´s new arrivals lounge, two disused baggage conveyor belts gath− ered dust last week as pigeons nested in the roof. A group of cleaners sat next to the taxiway listening to music on their mobile phones.

ˆYou should come here on your own. It´s scary,˜ said the airport´s chief engineer.

S.K. Singh, the local AAI director, defended the airport, saying Jaisalmer ˙ famed for its huge sand− coloured 12th century fort ˙ has a growing tourist industry, and the nearest functioning airport is 290 km (180 miles) away.

Airlines are not so sure. SpiceJet´s Kapoor said demand was linked to Jaisalmer´s cooler winter months, making it tough to lure enough passen− gers. Officials at GoAir and IndiGo said they had no plans to start flights.