The previous plan of partial privatisation was scrapped because of a dearth of bidders
Passengers flying in and out of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPI) will soon be getting an upgrade to their experience. The Union Cabinet has approved six airports across the country, including Ahmedabad, for modernisation through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
The previous plan of partial privatisation was scrapped because of a dearth of bidders. The decision to go the PPP route was taken by the government after the model worked for Delhi and Mumbai airports and yielded good revenue along with increase in tourist flow and improved quality of airports.
As against the Airports Authority of India's (AAI) previous proposal of partial privatisation, where the operator was only given the Operations and Maintenance aspect to handle, the new proposal allows the private player to hold at least 75 per cent stake with the AAI as the minority stakeholder.
Sudhakar Reddy, President, Air Passengers Association of India (APAI), "Previous proposal failed as it did not give private operators freedom and was not a good revenue model. Three attempts of the AAI failed, as they only had one bidder; this despite making the terms and conditions attractive. The decision will go a long way for betterment of Gujarat's aviation sector."
AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said, "The previous model has been scrapped, as it did not get many bidders. The terms and conditions are being worked out, hence I cannot divulge more details, but it will be similar to Delhi, Mumbai."
In the last one year, the airport has undergone massive infrastructural and operational changes, which have been welcomed by the passengers. The changes include increasing seating capacity, separate queues for pregnant women and the elderly, more check-in counters, self-kiosks, etc.
Additionally, Airlines Operator Committee (AOC) Chairman Shalin Joshipura said, "The new PPP model is a workable solution. With the present leadership of the airport, if we continue to improve, it will lead to the way we have projected. We are growing at 10 per cent every year. The previous model was not helping anyone — not the private player, nor AAI."
CONSTANT UPGRADE PROCESS
In the last year, airport has undergone infrastructural and operational changes, including increased seating capacity, separate queues for pregnant women and the elderly, more check-in counters, self-kiosks, etc.
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