‘India Aviation 2010’ international exhibition Inaugurated at Begumpet
Airport
U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer cuts the
ribbon to inaugurate the
U.S. Pavilion at the India Aviation 2010 in Hyderabad on Wednesday March
3, 2010.
Also seen (l to r) are Dr. Dinesh A. Keskar, President of Boeing India and
Carmine D’Aloisio, Minister –Counselor for Commercial Affairs, Embassy of
the United States of America, New Delhi.
Hyderabad|India|March'2010: The India Aviation 2010
international exhibition at the Begumpet air base here got off to a sombre
start on 3rd March when an aircraft ‘Kiran HJT-16’ of the Indian Navy’s
‘Sagar Pawan’ aerobatic team crashed into a residential building off the
airport. The mishap occurred just when the aircraft in formation were
about to sign off from an awe inspiring manoeuvre at the flying display
which last for 25 minutes.
That was the only sad note to a spectacular opening of the five-day 2nd
Exhibition and on Civil Aviation organised jointly by the Union Ministry
of Civil Aviation and FICCI.
Inaugurating the exhibition, Mr. Praful Patel, Minister of State for Civil
Aviation, declaring that the bidding process for the construction of the
new airport at Mumbai would be completed within a year. His optimism was
based on the robust 18% CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) in civil
aviation in 2009, despite the global slowdown. “We have been able to
weather the thunderstorm that struck the world with composure and I am
looking at 2010 with cautious optimism and am hopeful that the worst will
be over this year,” he told a capacity audience, over 200 of whom have
flown in for the air show from overseas.
Mr. Patel said the fact that USA is the focus country and France, the
partner country, for this year’s air show reflected the recognition that
the Indian civil aviation sector had arrived on the world map.
India Aviation 2010 has over 40 aircraft on static and flying display.
Over 18 hospitality chalets have been taken by various companies from
India and overseas to conduct meetings with their prospective customers in
a typical airshow atmosphere. Over 115 companies from overseas are
participating in the show.
Country pavilions have been put up by Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany,
Russia and the Netherlands. The AN 148 aircraft from Antonov UAC-Russia is
on display for the first time. The Minister said that the growth in Indian
civil aviation market was strong and at that pace
Responding to the observations by Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal, President,
FICCI, the Minister said that India would need 400 operational airports
(from 90 now) to reach out to the people and offer air services from every
location in the country. “In the next couple of years, India cannot do
without 2500-3000 aircraft to meet the air travellers’ needs,” he said.
Mr. K Rosaiah, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, pointed out that the
State Government had accorded a high priority to the development of civil
aviation facilities and had therefore offered fiscal and non-fiscal
incentives to attract private sector participation in the building of new
airports in the State.
He said Airports Council International (ACI) had rated the Rajiv Gandhi
International Airport at Hyderabad as the fifth best airport in the world
for airport services, a recognition that had made the country and the
state of Andhra Pradesh proud.
(ACI is the global trade representative of the world’s airports. It
develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports and
provides information and training opportunities to raise standards around
the world.)
Mr. M Madhavan Nambiar, Secretary, Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, in
his remarks, said that upgradation and modernisation on no-metro airports
offered significant opportunities for the participation of domestic and
foreign private players. In addition, Greenfield airports offer
substantial scope for private sector participation through the PPP route
right from the development of airports to their maintenance and
operations.
He said that India had great potential for becoming a global hub for air
cargo logistics triggered primarily by the impressive growth of the
economy. For facilitating the development of India as an air cargo hub,
there is a need to develop the concept of cargo village at selected
international gateways. This, he said, would act as a catalyst to compete
with major international airport bubs like Dubai, Singapore and Bangkok.
The inaugural session of the air show was also addressed by Mr. Timothy J
Roemer, US Ambassador to India; Mr. Jerome Bonnafont, French Ambassador to
India and Dr. Dinesh Keskar, Chairman, FICCI Aviation Committee.
Reachout's News Bureau
March'
2010
