The Centre is considering a proposal each from Telangana and Uttar Pradesh for setting up a ‘dedicated cargo airport’ or ‘Merchant Airport’.
The AAI, subject to the Centre’s approval, would facilitate the construction of such dedicated cargo airport(s) once the site(s) and plans are finalised, and after finding that the same would be geographically suitable for air transportation.
To ensure commercial viability for airlines, the other pre-requisites for a dedicated air cargo airport include that the site has to be a ‘consumption cluster’ — where there is a huge demand for consumer-based goods. The site should also be an ‘industrial cluster’ — where there are many goods manufacturing units and a huge industrial base.
Besides, the site should also have well-connected rail/road and airport network for multi-modal transport connectivity, the sources said. The site should also be able to handle large aircraft for transporting cargo in large volumes and for airlifting purposes.