Fraport eyes Indian greenfield airports

German airport company Fraport AG is keen to bid for at least three greenfield airports in India. It already owns about 10% stake in the Delhi International Airport (DIAL) through a consortium, and performs certain airport specific consulting responsibilities regarding modernisation, development and operation of the airport.

Now, Fraport wants to bid for major greenfield airport projects such as Navi Mumbai, Pune (Chakan) and Goa (Mopa) as part of a consortium. These three airport projects are coveted ones and several large infrastructure players such as Reliance ADAG, Tata-Changi, Lanco and L&T may also be interested in bidding for them, when that process begins.

But unlike its “cautious” approach with DIAL, Fraport is clear that this time, it will acquire 26% stake in each such airport project. “We made a cautious entry in Delhi… but we now want 26% stake or some arrangement to control operational aspects in the new airports (when we bid for them),” Fraport India managing director Ansgar Sickert said in Frankfurt.

The three airports Fraport is eyeing are in various stages of approvals, so bidding has not opened for any of them yet. While the Chakan airport is mired in land acquisition issues, Navi Mumbai is still dealing with environmental ones. But this has not stopped large infrastructure players from vying for these airports and already, parleys are on between these companies to form different consortia.

Meanwhile, Sickert made it clear that Fraport was not interested in investing in existing airports (Delhi was one such investment) since they remain under the Airports Authority of India, are open to limited private participation and hence, offer limited viability.

(The writer was in Frankfurt at the invitation of Fraport-Lufthansa)