New Delhi, June 15: The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ministry of Civil Aviation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 15 for the development of seaplane services in India.
As per the pact, a coordination committee with officials from the civil aviation ministry, shipping ministry and tourism ministry will be set up for timely completion of operationalisation of seaplane services at various locations.
Seaplane services will be developed as a part of the RCN-UDAN initiative of the Civil Aviation Ministry. The aviation ministry, the shipping ministry and Sagarmala Development Co Ltd will consider operationalising seaplane operating routes as identified by all agencies.
The Civil Aviation Ministry will select potential airline operators based on their commercial consideration through a bidding process. It will also incorporate the location and routes as identified by the Shipping Ministry and routes identified through the bidding process in the UDAN scheme document.
Till now a total of 28 seaplane routes and 14 water aerodromes in Gujarat, Assam, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are in various stages of development at a cost of Rs 450 crore, the government said in a press release.
The Shipping Ministry would identify and develop waterfront infrastructure of aerodromes and obtain required statutory clearances in coordination with corporate affairs ministry, Directorate General Of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India by defining the timelines for all activities involved in the development of facilities for starting seaplanes operations, the release added.