Ministry To Focus First On Private Airport Projects

The civil aviation ministry may use the impetus for liberalistion of the sector, which was given by Prime Minister I K Gujral here yesterday, to push privately-promoted airport projects.

The task of liberalisation will become for easier if, as had been speculated even before last Tuesdays ministry expansion, civil aviation minister CM Ibrahims portfolio is changed. That could happen this weekend. Ibrahim had scuttled the Tata-SIA project and other plans for private airlines through the new civil aviation policy a couple of months ago.

Civil aviation secretary M K Kaw has been engaged in a policy tug of war with Ibrahim since Kaw was posted to the ministry a few weeks ago.

 

He appears to have chosen to concentrate first on liberalising airport projects rather than on airline projects.

There is no official policy with regard to privately-promoted airports. Kaw has asked a score of persons, including officials, potential promoters, professional experts and journalists to give him proposals for the formulation of a national policy on airports.

Among the projects under consideration which could benefit from a change of attitude in the ministry, are the Tatas proposed airport project in Bangalore and the Hindujas proposal for a new airport in Mumbai and projects for an airport in Delhi. Among the proposals are joint ventures, build-operate-and transfer (BOT) and build-own-and operate (BOO) proposals.

The Hindujas have proposed to set up a wholly-owned airport in Mumbai.

The Tatas had rejected the governments proposal that they convert their Bangalore proposal into a BOT project.

They have since been negotiating with the Karnataka state government for some sort of a joint venture.

The state government has proposed that the land, around 2,000 hectares, which it will give for the airport be converted into equity. It has apparently not clarified whether the equity would be measured on the basis of the rate at which it would have sold the land for the project or at its market value.