In an exclusive interview to The Financial Express, Union minister for civil aviation Ananth Kumar said the government is in favour of upgrading facilities at existing airports.

"I have held detailed discussions with the chief ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra and they agreed with my plan of augmenting facilities at existing airports," said Kumar.

The minister, however, said the Rs 3,900-crore Tata-Raytheon international airport at Bangalore has not been shelved. "We are studying the project's feasibility. A decision will not be made in a hurry and may take a couple of months," the minister said.

At Mumbai, the civil aviation ministry has decided to upgrade Sahar international airport and defer construction of the new international airport. The airport's location has drawn criticism from environmental groups.

"While many cities need internationalairports, I have drawn up a broad work-plan of how to upgrade, develop and expand the existing airport facilities so that they can become internationally viable in the first quarter of the next century," said Kumar. The minister plans to tour all the 120 airports in the country.

He has already visited Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, and chalked-out plans for these airports with the help of the chief ministers of the three states.

The plans include extending the runway at the Bangalore airport from 10,500 feet to 13,000 feet, a facility which international airports offer. In addition, a new runway will be commissioned at Mumbai's Sahar airport.