AAI mulls partially privatising Ahmedabad, Jaipur airports

State-run AAI plans to partially privatise two of its key airports -- Ahmedabad and Jaipur -- by this fiscal for which proposals have already been invited from the interested parties.

Under the plan, which also involves the relocation of workforce and equipment, the terminal operations at the two airports would be handed over to private players, Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Guruprasad Mohaptara said today.

Significantly, AAI had in the past also proposed to hand over these two airports to private operators but had to shelve the plan due to manpower and revenue sharing issues.

"We essentially are trying to handover terminal management of Ahmedabad and Jaipur airport to a private operator. There we are expecting to relocate all our manpower and existing equipment," Mohapatra told reporters.

He said the process of partial privatisation is expected to be completed by March.

The AAI had invited Request for Proposal (RFP) from bidders for operation and maintenance of "select areas" of the Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports late last year.

The bids are to be opened on March 8.

The select areas include passenger terminal building, including the airport operations control centre, fire control room, kerb side approach road and passenger boarding bridges, apron area, including the provision of ground handling services through approved ground handling and surface car park, among others, as per the bid document.

Mohapatra also said the AAI would be holding a pre-bid meet with all stakeholders on the issue next month.

Last year, AAI had rejected twice Singapore's Changi Airport's proposal to operate and maintain Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports on the grounds that it was "unfeasible" and not commercially viable for the government airport operator.

The proposal to rope in Singapore's Changi airport for the projects was first floated during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the island nation in November 2015.