As per National Monetization Pipeline (NMP), 25 airports of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have been earmarked for leasing over the years 2022 to 2025, said the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh, in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday, said AAI airports are leased out in the public interest for their better management utilizing private sector efficiency and investment.
States and passengers are the ultimate beneficiaries of enhanced airport infrastructure and facilities created by a private partner, who operates, manages and develops the leased airport under Public Private Partnership (PPP), he said.
The Minister further said airports have emerged as a nucleus of economic activities and have a multiplier effect on the economy of the State. The revenue received by AAI from the leased airports is also utilized in the development of airport infrastructure across the country.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the airports namely Bhubaneshwar, Varanasi, Amritsar, Trichy, Indore, Raipur, Calicut, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Patna, Madurai, Surat, Ranchi, Jodhpur, Chennai, Vijayawada, Vadodara, Bhopal, Tirupati, Hubli, Imphal, Agartala, Udaipur, Dehradun and Rajahmundry have been earmarked for leasing over the years 2022 to 2025.
Further, AAI has leased out eight of its airports under PPP for operation, management and development on long-term lease basis.
The airports along with the concessionaires include Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad, Mangaluru International Airport, Jaipur International Airport, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
(with inputs from ANI)
