The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for leasing out three airports including the Guwahati Airport to the Adani Group.
The other airports of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are Jaipur and Thiruvananthapuram airports.
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The Union Cabinet accorded its approval for leasing of the three airports for Operation, Management and Development to M/s Adani Enterprises Ltd.
The Adani group was declared as the successful bidder in a global competitive bidding conducted by the Airports Authority of India for a period of 50 years.
The airports, including the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport in Guwahati, will be re-developed in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
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Union minister Prakash Javadekar in a press conference told reporters that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) will get an upfront amount of Rs 1,070 crore from handing over the airports to the private developer.
“The upfront Rs. 1,070 crore that will come to AAI will be used for developing airports in smaller airports. The other benefit is travellers will get better facilities. It will also improve efficiency (of airports),” the minister said.
Union minister Javadekar clarified that the lease was only for 50 years after which the AAI will get the airports back.
The central government had leased out the Airports Authority of India’s airports in Delhi and Mumbai on PPP mode for Operation, Management and Development about a decade ago.