AAI (NER) to develop world-class terminal buildings: Sanjeev Jindal

Guwahati: Airports Authority of India (AAI) in North Eastern Regional (NER) is solemnly responsible for developing aviation infrastructure and related projects on the ground as well as in the air. AAI is the sole service provider of air navigational services in the country besides operating, maintaining, developing and executing airports projects in India.

Addressing the Media gathering at the regional headquarters, NER at Guwahati, Sanjeev Jindal said that AAI in North Eastern Region has achieved many milestones in the past year and are ready to meet the challenges years ahead. Some of the achievements that he counted include- implementation of 100 percent E-office in the organisation. This means all NEER airports are working online and files are processed online through NIC server.

Secondly, most of the land disputes in the region have been resolved i.e 100 percent land mutation done for all airports. As most of the airports in NER are located in the rural areas, the land records and their details were difficult to maintain and get the exact measurements, but in the last year, it has been sorted out, except few disputed area.

In his address Jindal mentioned that there were not any major incidents recorded in the entire region, this means we have safely operated all ANS activities and securely facilitated all our passengers during this period. Even during the tough situations like- local band, strikes and agitations, all our airports were open for operations and extended facilities were provided in consultation with the stakeholders especially state governments.

Air connectivity in the region has also increased and some routes have been re-activated. Focusing on some remote locations, Jindal said that, Lengpui (Aizawl) and Dimapur (Nagaland) was his focus areas where new connectivity has been restored. Go Air started its daily direct connections to Aizawl from Guwahati, similarly Alliance Air (a subsidiary of Air India) started in services from Guwahati to Dimapur and till Imphal. This route was started Under UDAN (UDE Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) RCS programme. This has resulted in the promotion of trade and business apart from adding convenience for the students and hospitality sector, he added.

Cargo development is another sector where NER is growing fast and AAI is in the process of developing cargo terminals at all the NER airports. At present 12 airports are operational in NER and we are trying to develop dedicated air-cargo facilities all these terminal which will benefit the local farmers and it will promote agricultural products overseas. Guwahati already has a domestic and an international air cargo terminal. We are trying to form cooperatives of local farmers who can directly export their products from our airports, Jindal said.

Focusing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, he said that through this we want to connect underprivileged section of the society with the privileged one and AAI is working in various sectors like health, sanitation, education, para-medical services, village community development, rural development etc.

Intra-regional air route development is the focal point in NER where a dedicated aircraft will connect most of the popular destinations of NER and will be centred at Guwahati. This will cover air connectivity and increase tourism as well as educational activities in the region.

AAI is coming up with world-class Integrated Terminal buildings at Guwahati and Agartala. Greenfield (completely new project) airports are being developed at Holongi (Arunachal) and Silchar (Assam). And almost all the airports in NER are on upgradation projects for which about Rs 457 Cr. Will be spent in 2020. This will mainly focus on developing airport-related infrastructure and enhancing passenger amenities.

Wishing all the stakeholders and Media persons a Happy New Year 2020, Shri Jindal said that we have witnessed exponential over 25 percent pax growth at Guwahati Airport and similar development at other NER airports, the year 2020 will also witness more aviation growth promising world-class facilities with zero tolerance to safety & security.

A tree plantation by the press/ media members was also done at the AAI, Guwahati premises before the start of the programme today.

Disclaimer: This story is a press release and is being published without any editing by PSU Watch desk. Our editorial team has only changed the headline.