Airport Privatisation Plan Takes Off: Winners To Be Announced on Feb 28 As AAI Gets 32 Bids From 10 Companies For 6 Airports

A total of 32 technical bids have been received from 10 companies to operate six airports that are currently under AAI dispensation, PTI quoting senior officials reported.

In November last year, the government had cleared a proposal for managing six AAI-run airports on public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

AAI has sought bids for the operation and management of existing airport assets as well as their upgradation and development of additional air-side terminals, city-side and land-side infrastructure for Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram airports under a single stage bidding process.

The request for proposal (RFP) was officially floated on 14 December 2018 and the last date for the submission date was 16 February 2019.

The NDA government is banking on the successful conclusion of the bidding process by 28 February 2019 to help it reach the budgeted disinvestment target of Rs 80,000 crore for FY19.

“AAI has received 32 technical bids from total 10 companies for six airports,” senior government officials said.

While Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports have received seven bids each. Lucknow and Guwahati have received six bids each. Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram have received three bids each.

AAI will open the financial bids on 25 February. The winning bids will be announced on 28 February.

AAI will choose bidders on the basis of “per-passenger fee”.

According to a Livemint report, Adani Group and GMR Infrastructure Ltd have bid for all the six airports put up for privatisation while another major Indian airport operator GVK, which runs Mumbai international airport and is developing the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport and Singapore’s Changi Airports International (CAI) did not participate in the just concluded round of bidding .

Among the other bidders are Sydney-based investment manager AMP Capital, PNC Infratech Ltd, Autostrade India (a unit of Italy’s Atlantia SpA), Prem Watsa’s Fairfax India Holdings Corporation and a consortium comprising the National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) and Flughafen Zurich AG, the operator of Zurich airport.