Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore & Hyderabad airports' remaining stake to be sold by govt: Report

As part of Rs 2.5 lakh crore asset monetisation pipeline identified to raise additional resources, the government plans to sell its residual stake in already privatised Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports. According to PTI, the sale of Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) remaining stake in the four airports and additionally 13 more airports have been identified for privatisation in 2021-22 fiscal. Now, the Ministry of Civil Aviation will obtain requisite approvals for divestment of equity stake of AAI in the respective joint venture running Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports. 

As per reports, 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. In the first round of privatisation under the Narendra Modi government, the Adani Group has begged contracts for six airports including Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati. It is worth noting that the AAI, on the other hand, owns and manages more than 100 airports across the country. 

In Mumbai International Airport, the Adani Group holds a 74 per cent stake, and the remaining 26 per cent is owned by the AAI. In Delhi International Airport, the GMR Group holds 54 per cent and the AAI holds 26 per cent, while Fraport AG and Eraman Malaysia hold a 10 per cent stake each. AAI along with the Government of Andhra Pradesh holds 26 per cent of Hyderabad International Airport. Further, it holds a similar stake in Bangalore International Airport along with the Karnataka Government.

‘Important financing for new infrastructure’ 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had previously said that monetising operating public infrastructure is a very important financing option for new infrastructure construction. During her 2021-22 Budget speech, she had said that 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. 

PM Narendra Modi had also said that the government is targeting monetising 100 assets such as oil and gas pipelines, which can draw a massive Rs 2.5 lakh crore of investments. It is worth mentioning that the government is targeting Rs 1.75 lakh crore from divestment proceeds in the next fiscal year beginning April 1. 

(Image & inputs: PTI)