Global bids to be invited for mgmt of Chennai,Kolkata airports

Government will soon invite global bids for professional management of AAI-run new Chennai and Kolkata airports through public-private-partnership, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said today.
"These two airports have to be managed professionally by engaging private partners through the PPP or joint venture route. The offers in this regard will be invited through an international bid very soon," he told reporters here.
The Kolkata and Chennai airports are owned by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which recently modernised them and constructed plush new integrated terminals there.
The Chennai International Airport was modernised at a cost of Rs 2,100 crore while the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at Kolkata was refurbished for Rs 2,350 crore. These airports are the highest revenue earners for AAI.

Referring to the proposal to create a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with financial and operational autonomy to replace the DGCA, Singh said a note on the issue has been sent to the Union Cabinet after receiving comments from all concerned Ministries.
The draft CAA bill is ready and would be taken up by the Cabinet "very soon", he said, adding that the bill is likely to be tabled in Parliament in the Monsoon Session.

Speaking on other developments in the civil aviation sector, Singh said it has been decided to create Air Navigation Services (ANS) corporation by hiving it off from the AAI for providing air navigation services.

The government also proposed to create a separate Aviation Security Force to take care of airport security, presently handled by the Central Industrial Security Forces.
"A cabinet note has been prepared. The proposal has been finalised by the (Civil Aviation) Ministry and has been circulated to other Ministries for their comments," he said.