(a) whether the Union Government has decided to privatise more airports in the country and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the details of airports privatised since the last six years in the country;
(c) the details of payments offered by the bidders per passenger in the privatised airports;
(d) whether the Government of Kerala demanded the operation of Thiruvananthapuram airport; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for not awarding the same to Kerala?
The Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)
(a) & (b) : The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 8th November, 2018 accorded ''In Principle approval'' for leasing of six airports namely, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru for Operations, Management and Development under PPP. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has completed the bidding process and with the approval of the Union Cabinet, has issued Letter of Award on 15.07.2019 in respect of Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru airports and on 01.09.2020 in respect of Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati airports.
(c): The per passenger fee offered by the highest bidder payable to AAI is Rs. 177/- for Ahmedabad, Rs. 174/- for Jaipur, Rs. 171/- for Lucknow, Rs. 168/- for Thiruvananthapuram, Rs. 115/- for Mangaluru and Rs. 150/- for Guwahati airport.
;
(d) & (e): Yes Sir, Government of Kerala had requested the Government of India to allow them to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to take over and run the Thiruvananthapuram Airport. Government of India considered the request of Government of Kerala and allowed them to participate in the bidding process with the provision of Right of First Refusal (RoFR) with price range parameter of 10%. Accordingly, Government of Kerala designated entity i.e. Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) had participated in the bidding process. However, the bid quoted by KSIDC was below the 10% price range parameter quoted by the highest bidder. Therefore, as per the provisions of bidding documents, AAI has issued Letter of Award to the highest bidder.