Delhi airport to contribute Rs 240k crore to economy by 2025

IGIA, Delhi was recently ranked the second best airport in the world

Jayant Sinha, MOS Civil Aviation; G.M. Rao, chairman, GMR Group; M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President; and Anil Baijal, LG Delhi during the release of a report on Delhi airport at the vice president's residence in New Delhi | Arvind Jain Jayant Sinha, MOS Civil Aviation; G.M. Rao, chairman, GMR Group; M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President; and Anil Baijal, LG Delhi during the release of a report on Delhi airport at the vice president's residence in New Delhi | Arvind Jain

India is emerging as the third highest domestic market for civil aviation in the world, piping Japan, according to International Air Transport Association. The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi, which was ranked the second best airport in the world lately, is at the receiving end of this booming aviation market and can make contributions to India's economy to the tune of Rs 240,356 crore by 2025-26.

The findings came as part of a study conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). The report titled 'The Economic Impact of Delhi Airport' is the second such study conducted by the economic think tank to evaluate the economic impact of the Delhi airport.

The earlier report released in 2014-15 had estimated the airport to contribute 0.7 per cent to the national GDP. Now, it estimates that the airport would continue to make similar contributions to the revised national GVA measure as well. 

“The Delhi airport has become a beacon of hope and a landmark in India's civil aviation landscape for the last few years. Obviously, such a large scale operation involves many others and causes an economy-wide ripple effect,” said Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu during the release of the economic impact study report.

A coffee table book on the Delhi airport was also launched at the function, commemorating 10 years of the first such large scale private-public undertaking (PPA) in India. 

The NCAER’s research study assesses the current and future economy-wide impacts of the Delhi airport on output, employment and GDP.  Speaking at the function, Sekhar Shah, director general of NCAER, said: “A major chunk of this impact can be attributed to the rapid growth of domestic flights.”

The study claimed a robust growth of more than 13 per cent every year in air traffic in India during the last 10 years, signifying one of the highest growth rates in air passenger movement in the world.

“The catalytic effect of IGIA, Delhi, is reflected in the huge investments made in Gurugram and other districts in close proximity to the airport. In this way, IGIA, Delhi, and the industrial and  institutional development around it, represent an excellent example of a synergetic two-way development process,” Shah said. 

The airport's developers were content with the progress made in the last 10 years. By 2020, Delhi airport is likely to surpass Heathrow as the busiest airport in number of passengers carried (80 million passengers annually estimated).

“The decade long journey of excellence from the worst to the best would not have been possible without the support of all our stakeholders. It is estimated that efficient aviation infrastructure has more than three times multiplier impact on the economy and Delhi airport has delivered much beyond that,” said G.M. Rao, chairman of the GMR Group that runs the Delhi airport, at the release function.

Rao said that the upcoming Aerocity, when completed, would house a central business district right across the airport and make it a global business hub. Delhi airport is said to have contributed eight per cent to Delhi's GDP and emerged as an engine of economic growth for the Delhi and NCR region.  

TAGS