Delhi, Mumbai airport work goes private

    New Delhi: Amidst widespread protest by several bidders and airport employees, GMR-Fraport has clinched the modernisation bid for Delhi airport and GVK-Airport South Africa Consortium got the Mumbai airport. According to sources, Anil Ambani-owned Reliance has emerged as the highest bidder for the Delhi airport's modernisation plan by offering 46 per cent share in revenues to the government while GMR-Fraport offered second highest bid with 43 percent revenue sharing plan. Sources say that GMR-Fraport has now matched the Reliance bid. GMR-Fraport, the second highest bidder has got the contract because it has a superior technical ranking. Hyderabad-based GMR is an infrastructure house with major interest in energy and transport. It is building an airport in Hyderabad. Fraport manages the Frankfurt Airport. GMR-Fraport had scored more than the minimum 80 per cent marks needed to pass the technical bidding stage.

   For the Mumbai airport, GVK- Airports South Africa (SAA) consortium has emerged as the highest financial bidder, offering 38.7 per cent share in revenue, while GMR has offered 33.03 per cent. GVK- SAA has clinched the Mumbai airport modernisation bid on the basis of aggressive financial offer. While Hyderabad-based GVK is engaged in power and infrastructure, SAA is into airport management in South Africa. It manages Johannesburg and Capetown airports. Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on airports will meet later today to ratify the deals.

    The Civil Aviation Ministry had opened financial bids of five short listed bidders to modernise airports in Delhi and Mumbai. Among the bidders for the modernisation plans were GMR-Fraport, GVK, the DS Group and Anil Ambani's Reliance Group. Meanwhile, the airport employees, under the umbrella body of AAI Employees Joint Forum, have decided to go on a flash strike after the financial bids were opened. They are demanding an alternative plan for modernising the two metro airports. Several bidders have also begun protesting against deviation from tender conditions, with some even taking legal opinion. They have also written protest letters to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against the procedure laid down in awarding the contract.

ESMA option to rein in striking airport employees

    New Delhi: With the employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) threatening to go on a nation-wide strike in the wake of reported moves to privatise their services, the Central Government has announced that it could invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to rein in the agitating employees. In a last ditch effort, the employees association led by Sitaram Yechury, a prominent Left leader, decided to protest in front of the Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, which houses the Civil Aviation Ministry, when the bids were opened on Tuesday afternoon. On Monday, talks between Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and the Airport Employees Association had ended in a stalemate, even as Patel assured them about to look into their demands But today, the Centre seemed to be in an uncompromising mood and threatened to invoke ESMA to stop the airport employees from going on strike. Under ESMA, the government can declare a strike as illegal and initiate disciplinary action, including dismissal against striking employees.

    The airport privatisation drive has faced rough weather from day one when the Centre announced its move over three years ago. In Phase I, the Government has proposed to develop 10 airports including those at Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai, Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Guwahati, Goa and Lucknow. The cost of developing these 10 non-metro airports in the first phase has been estimated at Rs.1, 874 crore (424 million dollars). The 15 airports to be developed during the second phase include Agatti, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Aurangabad, Port Blair and Nagpur. Besides, studies are underway to identify 10 other airports which should be taken up for development. After repeated failures to arrive at an acceptable consensus, the Centre announced January 31 as the deadline to award the contracts.

Left furore over airport privatization

   New Delhi: The Left parties have warned the Congress-led UPA government of more political storm over the privatisation of the country's airports. The Left, which provides crucial support to the ruling UPA alliance, wants the revamps to be carried out by the Central Government, even as the Centre went ahead with opening of the bids for the privatisation of New Delhi and Mumbai airports. The Centre received six bids to modernize the airport in Mumbai and five for the Delhi terminals. The Centre wants to use private cash to modernise and manage the two international hubs at New Delhi and Mumbai that are struggling to cope with India's surging growth in air traffic.

    "The next course of action depends upon what the government is doing. If they are going to implement ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act), then we would like to inform the government that it will not remain a trade union issue and will become a political issue," said CPI (M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri. "One thing is clear that this will be an issue on which, along with the Left parties and some other parties have to come into the streets in support and which is an untenable issue," he added. The protesting workers, affiliated to the Left parties, have said that privatising the projects would go against the national interest, and want the Centre to clarify the status of the alternative modernisation proposal submitted by the AAI.

   The union has said that the AAI has both the expertise and the resources to take care of all the modernisation requirements in both Delhi and Mumbai airports and 35 non-metro airports. "The Centre has ignored the interests of employees. Let the government make a final announcement and we will react to the effect that 126 airports across the nation will shutdown with immediate effect," said MK Ghoshal, leader of the employee's union. Delhi and Mumbai airports together handle about 63 per cent of India's international passenger traffic. An estimated 19 million domestic passengers passed through India's airports in the year to March 2005. Analysts predict growth rates of 20 percent a year over the next five years as rising incomes and lower fares make air travel more affordable. Modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports to international standards will require 50 to 100 billion rupees in the next five years. There has been no major investments in either Delhi or Mumbai airports in the past five years due to the proposed privatisation and reconstruction plan. The Centre's privatisation plan entails a consortium of private companies to hold 74 per cent equity, including 49 foreign investment and the remaining 26 per cent will remain with the AAI and other government institutions. It will lease the assets of individual airports to successful bidders for 30 years, which is renewable for another 30 years. The security and air traffic control will continue to be handled by government agencies.

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