India has accorded in-principle approval for the development of 24 greenfield airports across the country, of which 13 have been operationalised so far, the Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Parliament.
Greenfield projects refer to infrastructure developed entirely from scratch on previously undeveloped land, while brownfield projects involve expansion, redevelopment or modernisation of existing facilities.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu stated that approvals have been granted under the Greenfield Airports Policy, 2008, with implementation timelines dependent on factors such as land acquisition, environmental clearances and financial closure by project proponents.
“Under Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008, Government of India (GoI) has accorded “In-Principle” approval for setting up of 24 Greenfield Airports across the country. Out of these, 13 Greenfield airports have been operationalised,” the minister said.
“As per GFA Policy, the responsibility for implementation of the Greenfield airport project lies with the Project Proponent. Also, the timeline for completion of the airport projects depends upon several factors such as land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances including environmental clearances, financial closure etc,” he added.
Providing details on recently inaugurated Navi Mumbai International Greenfield Airport, the minister said that the airport is spread over 1,160 hectares, features a 3,700-metre runway, and has an annual capacity of 20 million passengers and 0.8 million metric tonnes of cargo, significantly augmenting aviation capacity in the Mumbai metropolitan region.
He further informed that the Navi Mumbai airport has started flight operations to 13 domestic destinations, as on 21 January 2026.
Highlighting the economic impact of airport infrastructure, the minister cited an International Civil Aviation Organisation study which estimates an economic multiplier of 3.25 and an employment multiplier of 6.1 from air connectivity, underlining the role of greenfield airports as growth anchors for regional economies.
“Airports have emerged as a nucleus of economic activities and have multiplier effect on the economy of the State. Development of airports leads to increase in passenger movements, tourism development, employment generation and augmentation in circle rates of land valuation leading to enhanced collection of various taxes or stamp duties etc., in the respective State and in the overall development of the Country,” the minister said.
“International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) study shows that the air connectivity has an economic multiplier of 3.25 and employment multiplier of 6.1,” he added.
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