Edition 68
Last week saw the Hon. The Prime Minister lay foundation stone for development works in Maharashtra. The elections in Maharashtra would be announced over the next couple of days and they are due post Diwali. These kinds of events are common leading up to elections. The surprise then was the press release from GMR about one of the many works for which foundation stone was laid – the expansion of Nagpur’s Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport. The group has been battling court cases since the time it was awarded the concession to operate the airport.
After battling through India’s myriad court system, GNIAL – the wholly owned subsidiary of GMR Airports signed a concession agreement with MIHAN, to upgrade and operate the Nagpur Airport. This comes after the Hon. The Supreme Court removed all challenges on Sept 27 this year and directed MIHAN India to execute the agreement.
While it is unfair for the company and its shareholders, it is also unfair for the city – the geographical centre of the country. Any investments lead to positives for the economy. The airport already hosts a handful of MRO which sees Air India’s widebody aircraft being serviced along with IndiGo’s A320 family aircraft.
The signing marks closure of a long drawn battle and helps invest in the airport to turn a small airport with challenges into a modern entity. The first phase of this transformation includes enhancing the passenger terminal capacity to 4 million passengers annually. This ambitious project will also involve upgrading existing infrastructure, building a modern cargo terminal, and improving airside facilities with a new Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower.
The proponents against privatisation are going to keep their eyes wide open to see how the group applies to AERA for User Development Fee, but passengers should remember that good facilities need to be paid for.
All eyes now on next set of privatisation, which is long over due.
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