Deccan Aviation [Get Quote], which runs low cost airline Air Deccan, is likely to pick up a stake in a consortium that will help identify and build low-cost airports in India.

Executive Chairman Captain G R Gopinath told Business Standard that they were in the "final stages" of forming the four-member consortium, of which Deccan Aviation is also included.

"The three others are corporate entities with interests in infrastructure. Our mission is to achieve equitable development across Karnataka and the rest of the country," he said.

In the recent past, Captain Gopinath has been an active spokesperson for the low-cost airport concept as a means to connect small towns and cities to the rest of the country.

"Development has to extend to the fringes of a country as well and not just the capital cities. Connectivity plays a crucial role in this," he said.

Several states including Maharashtra, Kerala, Assam, Tamilnadu, Orissa and Bihar are believed to have started identifying greenfield or unutilised airport projects for the low-cost venture. Private sector entities such as the Tatas and GMR Group, which have expressed interest in these projects, will eventually bid for them.

According to Captain Gopinath, a low-cost airport can be built for under Rs 40 crore with smaller terminal buildings and without frills like plush buses to ferry passengers to and from aircraft.

"The focus will be on building world-class runways which can also accommodate ATRs," he said. The state governments, he added, could then set up industrial estates and technology parks around the airport.

"This will help us recover the money invested in building the airport in a few years," he said. Air Deccan is also believed to be in talks with builders to whom it may offer an assurance of flying to specific towns.