The Government of India has decided to develop six airports of the nation – Mangaluru, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Trivandrum, Jaipur, and Guwahati – under public-private-partnership (PPP), reports a statement issued by Press Information Bureau (PIB). Such an expansion will lead to an enhanced revenue generation to Airport Authority of India (AAI), and also provides other benefits such as job creation for the mass.
The public-private-partnership model of development for airports are followed in the airports of New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Cochin. The model has proved to be viable in delivering world-class infrastructure, premium and timely service to the passengers.
It has been decided to lease out six airports -- Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvanthapuram and Mangaluru of AAI in the first phase for development, operation and management under PPP. This is expected to enhance the revenue to AAI and increased economic development in these areas in terms of job creation and related infrastructure, the release from PIB stated.
The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will issue an ‘In-principle’ approval through a Public-Private-Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) for the purpose. The Union Cabinet will also form an Empowered Group of Secretaries to manage the issues that come beyond the purview of PPPAC. The Empowered Group of Secretaries will comprise of dignitaries such as Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog; Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs; and Secretary, Department of Expenditure.
Adopting a PPP approach for operation, management and development will assist in bringing Foreign Direct Investment to the airport sector. Also, in the course of time, Airport Authority of India can focus on augmenting other airports, and can target in expanding air navigation infrastructure for the rest of the country.
The six airports, currently proposed for PPP model of development, have a huge hike in terms of passenger count in recent years. To say, Mangaluru International Airport is said to have managed around 25 lakhs of passengers in 2017-2018, which is a 30% surge when compared to the previous year.
