GMR to bid for expanison and modernisation of airports in Serbia, Jamaica

The group's airport business is growing and contributes 55-60% to its revenues

The GMR group is planning to bid for expansion and modernisation of existing airports in Serbia and Jamaica, as it aims to double airports to 10 under management over the next few years.

"We are looking for opportunities both in India and abroad. We have qualified to bid for Belgrade (Serbia) and Kingston (Jamaica) airports,"  said Sidharth  Kapur, president, GMR airports on Tuesday.

The group will be partnering with a major European construction firm for Belgrade airport. It is an operational airport with over five-million passenger capacity. The concession period will be for 25 years. 

Within India, GMR plans to bid for new Bhogapuram airport near Visakhapatnam and privatisation of Nagpur airport.

GMR group runs airports in Delhi, Hyderabad and Mactan-Cebu in Philippines. It has won bids to construct a new airport in Goa and to develop and operate an existing airport in Heraklion in Greece.

"Our airport business is growing and now contributes around 55-60 per cent to the group's revenue," Kapur said.

The group's plan, coming against the backdrop of a turnaround in business, is to further widen its footprint. GMR group posted a net profit of Rs 9 crore in FY17 as against a loss of Rs 2664 crore in FY16. The return to profitability was spurred by good performance in its airport segment.