BackAirport privatization: AAI extends bidding deadline to 1 August
The original deadline was on 24 March which was later extended to 26 May and further extended to 1 July, according to the AAI website
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Mumbai: India’s airport authority has extended the deadline to submit applications for privatization and modernization of four airports to 1 August, the third such extension this year.
AAI officials, who did not want to be named, confirmed the development but did not disclose the reasons.
The original deadline to submit the so-called request for qualification was 24 March. This was later extended to 26 May and further to 1 July, according to the AAI website.
In a policy shift, AAI had invited Indian and international firms in January to develop airports in Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur in public-private partnerships (PPP). The tender notice on the AAI website asked potential bidders to submit applications to operate, manage and develop the four airports.
The January move was a turnaround for the government, which had decided against privatizing Chennai and Kolkata airports barely two months earlier, saying it had spent ₹ 2,400 crore to upgrade each of these airports last year.
On Tuesday, Sanjay Reddy, vice-chairman of Hyderabad-based GVK Group, which operates the Mumbai and Bengaluru airports, said the group will bid for all four projects to modernize airports at Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.
Meanwhile, airlines are worried that privatization will push up airport charges and stretch their finances. Airport charges have gone up by 346% in Delhi, 269% in Chennai, 385% in Kolkata and 164% in Mumbai over the last three years.
In 2013, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had floated a global tender to give management contracts for airports at Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Guwahati to private firms by 2014. However, the move did not take off.
In 2012, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said the ministry of aviation favoured private firms managing the New Delhi and Mumbai airports. The Delhi airport is managed by a consortium led by GMR Infrastructure Ltd and the Mumbai airport is managed by GVK Infrastructure Ltd.
The Centre has set an indicative cost for managing and developing the Chennai airport at ₹ 492 crore, which includes modifying the old international terminal building and offering a connectivity tube to the metro railway line.
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