Airport uplift draws a crowd

Reliance, Bharti, Videocon, L&T, Essel in fray.

Ten leading Indian corporates, including Reliance, Bharti, Videocon, L&T, Essel, and five other consortiums are in the race for the modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports, bids of expressions of interest for which closed today.

Bharti Enterprises and Singapore's Changi Airport Managers and Partners (CHAMPS) had submitted their bid on Monday after forming a joint venture for the purpose.

Videocon has collaborated with an Australian airport development company, Mythway Corporation, which manages the Sydney airport, to bid for modernisation of the two airports.

According to VN Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Group, the consortium is likely to bring in UK Infrastructure Ltd as the construction adviser for the project, which would require an investment of Rs 1,000-3,000 crore.

The Rs 3,500-crore Essel group has tied up with the Turkish airport developer TAV Group, to bid for the project. The TAV group operates the Istanbul, Ankara and Teheran international airports. The Essel group investment will be through its group company, Pan India Paryatan Ltd.

The Rs 2,500 crore GMR Group, which is developing the Bangalore airport, has formed a consortium with Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, the owner and manager of Frankfurt Airport and the India Development Fund (IDF). GMR will be the leader of the consortium, while IDF will be a financial investor.

The GVK Group, which is developing the Hyderabad airport, has tied up with the South African airport management company, Airports Company of South Africa.

The other consortiums are those of L&T and Piramal, Australian investment bank Macquaire Bank, DS Construction Ltd, Reliance Airport Developers and DLF.

The L&T-Piramal combine is an all-Indian consortium with no foreign partner.

In the next stage, the government will set up an inter-ministerial group with representation from the ministries of finance, law, civil aviation and the department of disinvestment. The bids would be opened in the next few days, sources said.

"This inter-ministerial group will decide the modalities to be followed and will examine the bids in detail with the help of the financial adviser," a civil aviation ministry official said.

The group will draw up a short list and put it forward for the consideration of the empowered group of ministers headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Bidders in the short list will be asked to submit financial bids, business plans as well as their architects' models for the two airports.

"The government will examine these aspects in the subsequent stages. The final decision will be taken by the group of ministers," said a government official.