Changi Airports International is ready to enter into joint ventures with more Indian companies in developing airports. The company, which has picked up a 26% stake for $20 million in Bengal Aerotropolis Pvt Ltd (BAPL), said it is looking at other opportunities.
??We are always open to opportunities for investment,?? said Wong Woon Liong, chief executive officer of Changi.
Changi has already formed consortium with companies like Tata Real Estate. It has bid for airports in Karnataka along with Tata Real Estate and the Leela Group to develop an airport at Kannur in North Kerala.
Liong said the company is expecting good returns from its recent partnership with BAPL to develop the country?s first aerotropolis-airport city project with an estimated investment of $2.5 billion. Wong and Eugene Gan, deputy director of CAI, joined the BAPL board on Thursday.
According to Liong, CAI has in place a technical service agreement (TSA) to support the planning and development of Durgapur Airport, and will enter into an operations and management agreement (OMA) to assist in the management of the airport once construction is completed.
The comprehensive TSA will involve CAI providing a suite of technical services for the development of Durgapur Airport. Support from CAI will come in four phases spread over a period of 24 months.
These include reviewing the Airport Master Plan, selecting consultants in the pre-construction phase, review of the detailed engineering design and drawings of the airport and the related infrastructure and preparations for operational readiness during the set-up phase of the airport opening.
Partho Ghosh, director of BAPL, said, ??We have already started acquiring the land and hope to start construction by the first quarter of 2010.??
The company has already acquired 400 acres for the project over 2,182 acres.
“Air India has shown interest in the project. We will start talking to other aviation companies after construction begins,” said Subrata Paul, chief executive officer and director of BAPL.