Plan to hand over LGBI airport to international airport: Rupam Goswami

GUWAHATI: The Central Government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have decided to assign the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport to the International Airport in a private and public sector partnership (PPP). This will enable the airport to be upgraded to world-class standards as well as provide quality services.

In a statement issued to the media here on Monday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state chief spokesperson Rupam Goswami said, "Such a beautiful move by the Central Government has met with opposition from the Congress with some baseless allegations. The Congress first spread the rumour that the airport has been sold."

Goswami said it would be better to privatize the airport as it seeks to develop the airport's terminal and other facilities for tourists in a private partnership. "The idea of upgrading the airport terminal and other facilities for tourists through private partnership does not mean that the airport should be completely privatized. The airport's runway and traffic control system will still be under the control of the Airport Authority of India as before. The revenue generated from this will be utilized by the Airports Authority of India for the overall development of small airports in Assam and other cities in India as well as for their international development. At present there are a total of about 100 small and large airports under the Airports Authority of India," he said.

Goswami also mentioned that the Congress party may be suffering from dementia. "The Congress should be aware that almost a decade ago, on the days of their Congress government, the two international airports, Delhi and Mumbai, were handed over to GMR and GVK companies in the same manner," he said.

The chief spokesperson said that the steps taken by the government in the case of the popular Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Assam would make the airport similar to the Delhi-Mumbai International Airport in the near future. "But it is ridiculous that the Congress has now shamelessly exposed its hypocrisy by opposing a system that was started in its own day for the sake of political gain only. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor lauded the recent move to hand over the Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala in a similar manner and hoped that it would improve the airport. In this context, the opposition to the Assam Pradesh Congress has exposed the politically motivated attitude of the Congress," he said.