The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is working on a draft to amend the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Act, 1994, to allow for monetizing land parcels near airport terminals across the country.

As per the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016, the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) will explore ways to unlock the potential of the land by liberalising the end-use restrictions for existing (excluding public-private partnership (PPP) and future greenfield and brownfield airports of AAI, as well as future greenfield and brownfield airport projects under PPP.

The existing provisions of the AAI Act, 1994 restrict the use of the land for commercial use.

The authority has identified land parcels near airports at Lucknow, Raipur, Tirupati, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Kolkata, Amritsar and Jaipur, where AAI can commence the city-side development once final approvals are in place. Work on multi-level car parkings with commercial facilities at Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Calicut, Jaipur and Amritsar has commenced and further, hotel properties are also planned at Amritsar, Bhubaneswar and Kolkata airports.

With a reserve of 55,000-60,000 acres of land across more than 150 locations, AAI seeks to redevelop pockets with clear land records. 50 airports out of the 150 airports are eligible for such development.