Airports Authority Offered Stake In Tata-Sia Venture
The Karnataka government has offered Airports Authority of India (AAI), a department under the civil aviation ministry, a stake in the proposed Tata-SIA joint venture project near Bangalore.
By roping AAI into the joint venture, the state government hopes to get the civil aviation ministrys clearance for the controversial airport project.
In a communication to the ministry, the Karnataka government has even offered to incorporate a clause in the shareholders agreement providing for a review to allow AAI to increase its stake on an agreed basis of valuation. AAI will also be allowed to nominate its representative on the companys board, the letter states.
The proposal is expected to come up for discussions between the state government representatives and the civil aviation minister CM Ibrahim at a meeting in New Delhi today.
During the meeting, the state government representatives are expected to point out to the minister that the Tata-led consortium had bid for the project and later prepared a feasibility report based on build-own-operate terms which was the original proposal on which the tenders were invited. Later, the ministry insisted that the project should be operated only on build, operate and transfer basis.
The communication states that it was necessary to empower the company to levy and collect landing fees, aeronautical and parking charges.
Otherwise, the viability of the project will be seriously affected as the feasibility report does not make any provision for sharing them with any other authority.
Another issue which will be taken up for discussion will be the refusal on the part of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which owns the existing airport, to allow commercial flights to be diverted to the new airport.
But the correspondence between the state government and the National Airports Authority of India during 1995, indicates that HAL had communicated to the authority that it would require the existing airport exclusively for test flying.
In a letter written to the then principal secretary of the state government, National Airports Authority had clarified that as HAL was keen to take back the airport, it would withdraw all its infrastructure support. However, HAL will be listed as a standby airfield for diversion of commercial operations.