IIFCL sanctions Rs 8,800 crore for airports, civil aviation infrastructure development

India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 8,800 crore for airports and civil aviation infrastructure development in the country.

IIFCL managing director P.R. Jaishankar said the Centre has an ambitious target to develop the civil aviation sector, and huge investment is required for the same. "So far, the IIFCL has sanctioned loans of about Rs 8,800 crore with the disbursement of around Rs 4,000 crore for the development of airport projects," he told news agency PTI.

IIFCL, which is one of the major financiers of airports in India and has supported airports with a total project outlay of about Rs 74,000 crore, will continue to extend its support to develop world-class airport infrastructure in India and explore opportunities in funding the greenfield airport projects, as well as maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO) facilities under the PPP mode by way of term loan, subscription to bonds, refinancing, or credit enhancement etc, Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar said the airport sector of the country holds the potential to provide a huge positive impact on the economy, with an economic multiplier of 3.1 and an employment multiplier of 6.

To meet the growing demand for air travel in India, he said, it has become imperative to increase the capacity of airport infrastructure.

In the past few years, the airport sector in the country has been witnessing massive growth with investments from both government and private sector. The passenger handling capacity of airports in the country is expected to increase from the existing 350 million per annum to 500 million per annum by the end of the current financial year and 2 billion by 2047.