Thiruvananthapuram: The Adani Group has edged ahead to gain the operational control of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport after outbidding proposals from the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and the GMR Group, the operator of Delhi and Hyderabad airports. A formal decision is awaited on February 28.
The KSIDC and the GMR Group are at the second and third spot in the financial bid.
The Adani Group is also likely to be presented with the management of the airports in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mangaluru, marking its entry into the country’s aviation sector, as the bidding process for private participation culminates. Though the Cochin International Airport Limited had bid for the Mangaluru airport, it finished second to the Adani Group there.
The Airports Authority of India decided to privatise the operations of Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati airports. Adani and GMR groups had raised bids for all six airports. A court has stayed the bid for the Guwahati airport.
The central government’s decision to hand over the operation of six airports in the country to private companies had drawn severe flak. Though the Kerala government itself was against the idea, it later participated in the bid through the public sector entity KSIDC.
The KSIDC was picked as the state government’s bidding agency to comply with norms. The initial plan was to let the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) participate in the bid but a company was later floated by the name of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Limited.
The KSIDC was granted 10 per cent right of refusal as per the wishes of the state government, giving it an option to increase its bid in case of other companies outbidding it.
The Airports Authority Employees’ Union has alleged that the part privatisation will make many employees jobless at the profit-making airport.
The Adani Group will be in a vantage position in south India if the company is invited to operate the Thiruvananthapuram airport. The company is already in charge of the multi-crore Vizhinjam International Port.
The agreement for the port project was signed with Adani during the previous UDF rule and the company started construction on December 5, 2015. As per the contract agreement, the port is scheduled to be completed by December 4, 2019.
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