Pawan Hans awarded 70 routes
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has awarded 14 Water Aerodromes under UDAN across the country with sanctioned investments of Rs.287 crore, Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation (Gen. Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd) said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on 25 July 2022.
An expenditure of Rs.18.73 crore has been incurred so far on these projects, he said.
These are:
SardarSarovar Dam (Statue of Unity), Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island), Shaheed Dweep (Neill Island), Long Island, Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Guwahati riverfront and Umrangso Reservoir in Assam, NagarjunaSagar Dam in Telangana (e) Prakasam Barrage in Andhra Pradesh and Minicoy, Kavaratti, Agatti in Lakshadweep Islands.
Out of these Water Aerodromes, SardarSarovar Dam (Statue of Unity) and Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad, have been operating since 31 Oct 2020.
However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the seaplane operations were suspended.
A total of 115 RCS helicopter routes have been awarded under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN, he said, adding that 36 routes have been operationalized.
As per provisions in the UDAN scheme, helicopter operations are permissible only in priority areas viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, North Eastern Region states, Andaman Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
Further, Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) has been awarded 70 routes by AAI under RCS UDAN. These are operationalized based on the availability of infrastructure and other necessary arrangements.
Twenty-eight sea plane routes connecting 14 water aerodromes and 115 RCS helicopter routes have been awarded, said the Ministry.
So far, there has been no bid from airlines to operate UDAN seaplane and helicopter from Visakhapatnam cruise terminal.
UDAN is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted periodically for covering more destinations-stations and routes. In case an airline bid for routes in future rounds of bidding, the same may be considered as per provisions of the Scheme document. fiinews.com
