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Ministry mulls floating separate firms for ten major airports
OUR INFRASTRUCTURE BUREAU
MUMBAI, Jan 17: The civil aviation ministry is considering the proposal to float separate companies for the 10 big airports in the country, civil aviation secretary MK Kaw said. The airports to be transferred to separate companies include those at New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Panaji.Addressing a conference here today at the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Kaw said that there also will be separate companies for the construction of new airports. The government has already approved equity participation from private Indian and foreign companies in setting up of airports. There are eight models which the developer can choose from, he said, adding that these also include build-operate and transfer and build-operated-lease models. There is also a proposal to restructure the Airport Authority of India (AAI). Apart from giving new powers to the authority, this will also enable it to regulate the industry in the new scenario, deputy director general of civil
aviation Risal Singh said. Instead of the Airport Act of 1934, the new Civil Aviation Act will be enforced, he added. The government has also invited suggestions from the major consultancy firms for the restructure of AAI and privatisation of airports, Kaw said. German consulting major KFW is also among the consultants which would be making presentations to the AAI. Governments of Germany and the UK had shown interest in the New Delhi and Mumbai airports which are proposed to be transferred into new companies soon. The German government is also keen to build a showcase airport in the country, he said. Once the new regulations are in place, the AAI will only maintain some medium-sized airports and small airports could be left to the initiatives of the state governments. Out of the 120 airports under the AAI, at least 30 could be transferred to the state governments, he said, adding that the Maharashtra government had in principle agreed to build small airports at Solapur and Kolhapur. Air traffic
control services would be regulated in accordance with the terms and conditions mutually agreed upon, he added. Talking about infrastructure upgradation at the airports, Kaw said that the two programmes including airport "facelift" and "instant cargo" are being implemented by the authorities. Infrastructure relating to cargo handling like satellite freight cities, with multi-modal transport, cargo terminals, cold storage, automatic storage and retrieval systems, mechanised transportation of cargo, computerisation and automation will be set up on the top priority basis, Kaw said. "We are initiating steps for establishment of electronic data interchange systems to be linked amongst all stake-holders in the trade," he added.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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