MUMBAI, January 17: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to sell off 40 airports belonging to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to state governments at a nominal price of Rs one each. The Maharashtra government has already identified to two of these airports - Sholapur and Kolhapur for takeover, M K Kaw, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said here today.Addressing a seminar on `Air cargo and open skies policy' organised by the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC), he said the ministry wants to modernise 120 airports presently administered by AAI. Kaw said the government will allow private and foreign equity participation ranging from 74 per cent to 100% for the development of the airports. "As the government does not have adequate resources to modernise and expand them. By the end of this plan, AAI will retain only about 30 airports under its own wings," he said.
An Airports Restructuring Commission set up by the Government has already begun to identity the airports to be privatised and also
examining the measures needed for raising their standards to international levels, Kaw said.
AAI will also prepare a shelf of projects in respect of greenfield airports and make available pre-feasibility reports to private investors. For building infrastructure for all these projects, the government will provide fiscal incentives, Kaw said.
Kaw said the government will restructure the AAI by hivivng off 10 major airports into separate companies. ``Consultants would make presentations to the AAI free of cost, so that it can restructure itself and exit from many of the airports it handles. Also, AAI act will be amended and incorporated into the Airports Act,'' the Civil Aviation Secretary, M K Kaw said here today. He said four committees were set up to amend existing laws including Airports Act.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
