PAC seeks details on implementation of PPP at IGI Airport

Taking the government to task over the public-private partnership (PPP) to develop and run the Delhi Airport, a parliamentary committee has asked it to furnish the financial impact of the concessions granted to the private-led joint venture DIAL on government revenue.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also wanted to know from the government "the circumstances and the rationale" for the fixing of high Development Fee (DF) by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which was later reduced substantially.
In a report on the implementation of PPP at Delhi's IGI Airport tabled in Parliament today, the committee, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, wanted to know "the total revenue year-wise earned by Airports Authority of India (AAI) from DIAL after taking over the Delhi airport as also the projected revenue share in the next three years".

The PAC raised questions on the "adverse impact" on revenue sharing between the joint venture company and the AAI due to the outsourcing of non-aeronautical services.
It observed that while airport tariff was determined by the aeronautical services, categorisation of these services "differs substantially between OMDA (Operation, Management, Development Agreement) and the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) Act".
The PAC pointed out that while ground and cargo handling services were categorised as aeronautical services in the AERA Act, these were designated non-aeronautical in the OMDA.
"The Committee would like to be apprised of the financial impact of the concessions granted by the government under OMDA and the revenue ensured by the government from the DIAL" if these two services were categorised as aeronautical services.