India, Singapore look at expansion of aviation ties
02 May 2007
Observing that aviation ties between the two countries were growing progressively, Patel told Lim that both sides should work together for further developing these relations.
Patel has also identified airport infrastructure as a major constraint for the Indian civil aviation sector in the face of growing air traffic, an official spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Maintaining that air traffic had grown by over 100 per cent in the last three years, Patel said multiple airports would be required to cater to this traffic, which needed to be redistributed throughout the country instead of being concentrated on major metros like Mumbai and Delhi.
Patel also said that the government had allowed 100 per cent FDI in developing greenfield airports, while public-private partnership route was being followed to develop non-metro airports. He apparently assured Lim that the government would look at the Indo-ASEAN Open Skies issue "meaningfully."
A meeting of the Indo-Singaporean Working Group is slated for May-end to look into ways to carry forward the government's 'Look East' policy.