New Delhi: The Union government is considering handing over the Chennai and Kolkata airports to private companies on long-term lease under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, according to officials, in a move aimed at bringing their services and infrastructure up to international standards.
Both airports are currently run by public-sector entities. Private participation is expected to speed up passenger facilities, expansion and modernisation.
The government has used the PPP model to develop and modernise several major airports in the country, with a number handed over to private partners on similar terms in the past.
Questions remain, however, over whether privatisation will raise passenger charges and how employees' interests will be protected. The details of the proposal have not yet been made public.
Chennai and Kolkata are among the busiest aviation hubs in southern and eastern India. Expansion of these airports is expected to handle rising passenger traffic.
A final decision on the proposal will be followed by a notification from the Union government, officials said. The plan is part of a broader push to expand airport capacity across the country, they added.
There are examples in the country where privatisation of airports has improved passenger facilities. In some cases, however, complaints of higher passenger charges have followed. The picture will become clear once the terms for employees and the handover are spelt out. Both airports handle crores of passengers a year, and their expansion has long been pending.
Airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are already run under public-private partnerships in the country. Data show passenger numbers rising under the model. The bidding process will become clear once the details of the proposal are published.