AAI Finds Takers In Second Round Of Bidding To Privatise Ahmedabad, Jaipur Airports

After failing to evince interest in partially privatising the Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad and Jaipur International Airport last year, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has managed to receive three and four bids respectively for the management of the two airports, reports Mint. AAI’s previous attempt to privatise operations at the airport failed due to the stringent terms in the contract that kept away prospective bidders who felt it left little scope to generate revenue.

AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said that the bids would be evaluated in the following week, and that each bidder’s eligibility to manage the airports would also be evaluated.

AAI has changed some of the terms that bidders had raised objections to including performance monitoring, more leeway in capital expenditure, and clarity on the ownership structure.

The Centre has in the past tried to privatise operations across several airports, notably Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. Of these, the AAI objected to the privatisation of Chennai and Kolkata due to them being the most profitable airports among the ones owned and operated by the agency.

Employee Unions too put privatisation plans on hold, arguing that they would lose their jobs if the government went ahead with its plans.