Going ahead, new greenfield airports, existing profitable airports to be privatised: AAI chairman

Airport Authority of India (AAI) chairman Arvind Singh on Thursday said that new greenfield airports and existing profitable airports will be privatised in the coming time and participation is expected from both domestic and international companies in this process.

"Going ahead, I see more and more participation where new greenfield airports and existing profitable airports will be privatised because that is the stated policy and we expect more participation from both domestic and international companies in this privatisation process," Singh told ANI.

He said that there is an established and robust privatisation program in the country.

"It started almost 14 years ago, when Delhi and Mumbai airports were privatised. We saw more private airports coming up in Hyderabad and Bangalore. We have a very established and robust policy," Singh said.

"If you compare the revenues, the revenues that we were getting from Delhi and Mumbai in the first year of privatisation has grown exponentially. Today, AAI gets almost Rs 3,000 crores annually from Delhi and Mumbai airports." he added.

Singh said that airport authorities are debt free companies, "which is why significant investment can be made in the sector for adequate infrastructure expansion without raising any money either from the budget or loans."

Talking about Wings India 2020, which will be held in Telangana's Hyderabad in March this year, the AAI chairman said that the event will bring companies and governments and foreign ministry officials from all the countries together.

"To deal with the challenges of the future in terms of infrastructure, growth in airlines, we want to see the best companies and practices coming into the country. This will showcase the best companies, airport operators, airlines and manufacturers," Singh said.