Airports in six non-metro airports will be leased out in public-private partnership deals, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday.
The six airports are Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru.
Prasad said the government had taken the in-principle decision to lease the airports on the lines of those in metros for their operation, management and development. The government expects this opening to provide an immediate opportunity to attract foreign direct investment.
The minister said the airports operated on this model nearly a decade earlier were being ranked among the top by the Airport Council International in their respective categories. “The reform initiated in airport management has been globally recognised,” he said.
“This is expected to enhance the revenue to Airport Authority of India and increased economic development in these areas in terms of job creation and related infrastructure,” an official statement later said.
The increase in domestic and international air travel in India combined with congestion at most airports, and the strong traffic growth at the 5 airports which were privatized over a decade ago attracted the attention of several international operators and investors.
First Published: Nov 08, 2018 21:02 IST
Source: HindustanTimes