The government plans to sell its residual stakes in the already privatised Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad airports as part of the ambitious Rs 2.5-lakh-crore asset monetisation pipeline identified to raise additional resources, sources said.
The sale of the Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) remaining stakes in the four airports as also 13 more airports has been identified for privatisation in 2021-22, two people aware of the deliberations at the empowered committee of secretaries last month said.
The ministry of civil aviation will obtain the requisite approvals for the divestment of equity stakes of the AAI in the respective joint ventures running the Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad airports, they said, adding the issue is likely to go to the cabinet for approval in the next few days.
For the 13 AAI airports identified for privatisation, the possibility of clubbing of profitable and non-profitable airports will be explored to make more attractive packages, sources said.
In the first round of airports’ privatisation under the Narendra Modi government, the Adani group bagged contracts for six airports — Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati — last year.
The AAI, which works under the ministry of civil aviation, owns and manages more than 100 airports across the country.
Adani Group holds a 74 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport, while the remaining 26 per cent stake is with the AAI.
In Delhi International Airport, GMR Group holds 54 per cent and the Airports Authority of India holds 26 per cent, while Fraport AG and Eraman Malaysia holds 10 per cent stake each.
The AAI along with the government of Andhra Pradesh holds 26 per cent in Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.
It holds a similar stake in Bangalore International Airport along with the Karnataka government.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the 2021-22 budget speech had said monetising operating public infrastructure assets is very important financing option for new infrastructure construction.
A “National Monetisation Pipeline” of potential brownfield infrastructure assets will be launched and an asset monetisation dashboard will also be created for tracking the progress and to provide visibility to investors, she had said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month said the government is targeting monetising 100 assets such as oil and gas pipelines, which can draw a massive Rs 2.5 lakh crore of investment.
The government is targeting Rs 1.75 lakh crore from the divestment proceeds in the next financial year beginning April 1.
