Airports bid hits polls air pocket
The Election Commission have ordered to defer the process of privatisation of the operation and management of six airports of the state run Airports Authority of India (AAI) till the completion of the Lok Sabha poll process, civil aviation ministry sources said.
The six airports are Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati and Ahmedabad. The EC orders were received by the civil aviation ministry on March 21.
Sources said the poll panel was earlier approached by the civil aviation ministry to get a go ahead approval for the Public Private Participation (PPP) model for the six airports. The matter was referred to the sources when the model code of conduct was enforced.
“The sources have taken the view that until the completion of the poll process the PPP process should be deferred. Once the elections are over the new government in place at the Centre in May will now take a final decision on the process,” top ministry sources told this newspaper.
The deadline for receipt of the request for qualification (RFQ) from the consortia in contention to bag the contract to operate and manage these six airports has now been extended by the AAI.
The AAI Employees Union has evoked stiff opposition to the process of privatisation of operation and management of the six airports and has demanded that the AAI should continue to operate and manage these six airports.
However, the implementation of the PPP model for these six AAI airports has been persistently supported by the UPA-2.
Source: Deccan chronicle
AAI airports, AAI Employees Union, Ahmedabad, Airports, Chennai, civil aviation ministry, Election commission, Guwahati, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lok Sabha poll, Lucknow, PPP model, Privatisation, Request for qualification, UPA-2
