Modi's Infrastructure Bet Goes Wrong? Airport Ghost Town, Subway Carrying Air

Bloomberg reported on May 2 that the Modi government invested billions of dollars to expand highways and ports and build airports. Due to mismatched supply and demand and poor management, dozens of construction projects performed poorly, causing severe waste of infrastructure resources, with aviation issues being particularly prominent.

Official data shows that out of India's 140 airports, dozens of airports have had no passengers visiting from December 2024 to March 2025, turning into "ghost airports." In the 2024-25 fiscal year, more than one-third of the airports had an average daily flight volume of less than five flights, with some days having no flights at all. Subway operations are also struggling. Mumbai's ridership is about 30% of its construction target, while Bangalore is only 6%. Except for New Delhi and Kolkata, the actual passenger traffic of subways in other cities is less than 20% of the expected level.

Analysts believe that blind expansionary policy inertia and local governance defects have led to the construction of many non-practical facilities. On one hand, to achieve the "plan for every Indian to fly," the Modi government aims to double the number of airports in India by 2047, forcing the construction of small airports in relatively remote areas. However, due to low demand in these areas and unreasonable setting costs, these airports struggle financially and cannot be sustained even with subsidies. On the other hand, serious political patronage disrupts local infrastructure development in India. Local politicians invest in poor-quality, high-priced public welfare projects to gain voter support. Industry insiders point out that India's aviation infrastructure planning is not based on transportation and demand logic but rather on election and political agendas. The large-scale infrastructure construction in non-industrial and non-populated areas inevitably raises questions about corruption.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831350160092377/

Disclaimer: This article represents the author's personal views.