India to open airport sector

India to open airport sector

NEW DELHI (AFP): India is likely to open its airports to overseas capital in a bid to meet the growing air traffic demands of the next century, Civil Aviation Minister C.M. Ibrahim said Sunday.

Ibrahim said a comprehensive policy, which will cover foreign participation and privatization of India's domestic airports, would be unveiled soon.

"The policy will formulate guidelines for private participation in development of airports and related infrastructure," he said after opening a five-million-dollar aviation terminal in the southern city of Hyderabad.

The Geneva-based Air Transport Action Group has said India would need five billion dollars in the next 20 years to build new airports and modernize facilities if it wanted to retain its share of Asia's air travel market.