Ground Clearance ; the Modernisation Process of the Country's Two Busiest Airports has Finally Taken Off. But Before a Smooth Landing, It Will Have to Clear Several Air Pockets.

India Today › February 06, 2006

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Summary

The countdown to world-class airports at Delhi and Mumbai has finally begun. The Government awarded the bids for modernising the country's two busiest airports to GMR-Fraport (Delhi) and GVK-South African Airports team (Mumbai) on January 31 after a two-year-long, controversy-laden selection process. GMR-the best technical bidder, which is building Hyderabad's second international airport-matched the highest financial bid of 45.99 per cent revenue share submitted by Reliance Airport Developers for the Delhi airport. GVK, which is engaged in building a new airport in Bangalore, quoted a revenue share figure of 38.7 per cent, the highest bid for the Mumbai airport. The bid for the Delhi airport is higher because its traffic is expected to surpass Mumbai's. It is more profitable, preferred by international carriers and is easier to revamp. Both GMR and GVK will control these airports till 2066.

Airport users can hope to see the first signs of change by April 2006, when the transfer of management is due. But it won't be before the end of 2009, the completion target for the first phase, that these airports start giving the Changies and the Schipols of the world a run for their money. By then each airport will have two parallel runways. This will provide some respite from the air traffic congestion caused by explosive passenger growth. The buildings would be refurbished to handle 100 million passengers a year. Presently, each airport handles about 14 million of them. The subsequent phases of modernisation will factor in the growth in air traffic.

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Extract

Ground Clearance ; the Modernisation Process of the Country's Two Busiest Airports has Finally Taken Off. But Before a Smooth Landing, It Will Have to Clear Several Air Pockets.

Says Praful Patel, Union civil aviation minister: "India will have its own world-class airports by the end of 2009 and we won't have to look at the Dubai and Singapore airports as models." The finalised airports will have parking space for 120 aircraft at any given time. Even the 500-s...

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