Airport privatisation plan back on the table.

The decision to award private operators contracts to manage airports appears to be back on the agenda, with the Narendra Modi-led government taking charge at the Centre. An inter-ministerial group (IMG) is scheduled to meet on Thursday and finalise the model concession agreement (MCA) for award of contracts for six identified airports - Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Guwahati, Jaipur and Ahmedabad - on the basis of a pre-determined rate.

The process to award management contracts for these six airports had been initiated last year by the previous government but the plan had to be put on the back burner following a difference of opinion between the Union civil aviation ministry, then led by Ajit Singh, and the Planning Commission, over the terms of the project-award agreement. Several private and foreign infrastructure companies, such as IL&FS Transportation Networks, Essar Projects India, Cochin International, Essel Infraprojects, GVK, Fraport, Saudi Arabia, GMR Airports, Sahara Group and Turkey's Celebi Habacilik Holding AS, had evinced interest in these projects.

BS