DIAL registers steady increase in non-aeronautical revenue in 5 years

The non-aeronautical revenue of GMR-led joint venture Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has increased 300 times in the last five years, and so has the revenue of Airports Authority of India (AAI).

"There has been a steady increase in non-aero revenues of DIAL, and hence increase in the revenue share of AAI, year over year from Rs 323 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 797 crore in 2010-11 and estimated to be Rs 1,052 crore in the current financial year 2011-12, registering a growth of more than 300% in the last five years," a senior DIAL official said.

Dismissing charges that the joint venture operations at Delhi airport was leading to revenue loss to the state-run AAI, he said that under the Operational, Management and Development Agreement between the AAI and DIAL, the former is entitled to get 46% of DIAL's total revenue.

Maintaining that the total cost of project of constructing the swanky new steel and glass Terminal-3 building was $2.8 billion, he refuted reports that DIAL had overshot the budget by over $2 billion (Rs 8,955 crore).

The official said the budget cannot overshoot by such a whopping amount as DIAL's Board of Directors, which approves any increase in the project cost, also include nominees of the AAI and the Civil Aviation Ministry.

According to an estimate by Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), the entire project cost was around Rs 12,760 crore as against the final cost stated by DIAL as Rs 12,857 crore.

"This means 99.25% of the entire increased project cost has been determined by the AERA," he said.

Maintaining that DIAL has given the license to develop airport land through the Delhi Aerotropolis Private Limited (DAPL), he said DIAL carried out competitive bidding for the 45 acres of land to the selected bidders.

 DIAL received Rs 1,471 crore as refundable deposits towards land, besides annual license fee of Rs two crore per acre per annum with a 5.5% escalation year-on-year. "The entire deposited amount is used for airport development. In addition, the successful bidders have also contributed Rs 675 crore towards development of common infrastructure fund such as power, water, drainage, firefighting, roads and others," he said.