GMR-led Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has not paid interest in the last three months on a loan taken to upgrade the airport. The interest dues have now accumulated to R160 crore. If repayments are delayed further, lenders led by Canara Bank who had given the loan will have to classify the GMR loan as a non-performing asset as per Reserve Bank of India guidelines.
Company sources said the Supreme Court?s recent order prohibiting collection of airport development fees (ADF) from passengers has impacted revenues. The fees ? which the court said was not backed by any statute ? would have brought around R50 crore every month.
GMR Airports chief financial officer (CFO) Sidharth Kapur confirmed the default to FE, adding, ?the lenders have not given us any notice, but have expressed concern?. A GMR official denied the delay will have any adverse effect, stating banks were aware of the court order and its financial implications. ?The parent company could pump in cash if needed, but that will be the last option,? he said.
Until the Supreme Court order, DIAL levied R200 as ADF for domestic travel and R1,300 for international travel from those departing from the capital?s Indira Gandhi International airport. Earnings through ADF were capped at R1,827 crore. At the time of the court order, DIAL had collected only R1,051 crore. This means it had room to collect R776 crore more on this count.
DIAL had secured government?s permission to collect ADF to part-fund its $3-billion airport modernisation work.
Following the court order, GVK-led Mumbai International Airports Ltd (MIAL) too stopped collecting ADF but has so far managed to service its debt on time.
?We have not been able to collect R25-26 crore a month due to the court order. We are facing difficulties, but have made interest payments on time,? a senior GVK official said.
The court has directed the government to frame rules for collection of development fee by state-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) and subsequent release of the sum to private airport companies. The civil aviation ministry has laid down guidelines for collecting funds and has obtained the concurrence of the law ministry.
The developer, however, will have to wait, thanks to the procedures involved in collecting the fee and its release to the developer.
Official sources said AAI will collect the fee and release it to private companies managing Delhi and Mumbai airports every month. Before the court order, airport firms could access the development fee collected from passengers immediately.
?The government is putting a collection and monitoring mechanism and we don?t have any problem with it,? Kapur of GMR Airports said.