THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The validity of the bid for the Trivandrum airport is likely to be extended by 15 more days in order to facilitate a deal between Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) and the state government. They are expected to share the stakes of the airport. According to sources close to Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Union Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to hold a high-level meeting to discuss matters related to Trivandrum Airport by the first week of August after the Parliament session. The meeting is expected to take a final call on the matter.
AEL had bid successfully to run the six airports that were put for lease by the Union government. The letter of approvals (LoA) for the three airports out of the six were given to the winning bidder. The Cabinet would give the permission to grant the letter of approval (LoA) for Guwahati and Jaipur airports shortly. The decision on Trivandrum airport will be taken after the meeting.
According to reliable sources, the Ministry would give the letter of approval to manage and operate the Trivandrum international airport to Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL). However, the state government and the AEL will have a deal. As per the understanding between them, the state would be given stakes proportionate to the investment it has made in the Airport over the years. The state is then expected to float global tender inviting partners to the newly formed company for running the airport. Nevertheless, the majority stakes in the airport would be held by AEL.
The state has already registered a company Trivandrum International Airport Limited (TIAL) with an authorised capital of `10 lakh and paid up capital of `5 lakh. The Board of Directors consists of Chief Secretary Tom Jose, Additional Chief Secretary (finance) Manoj Joshi, Principal Secretary (Transport (aviation) department) K R Jyothilal, and Sanjay M Kaul, MD KSIDC.
The validity of the bid, won by the AEL for six airports, ends on July 31. The Centre has been delaying the decision to hand over Trivandrum, Guwahati and Jaipur airports to the winning bidder as these three states have objected to the Centre’s plan to privatie them. Though the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) which took part in the competitive bidding on behalf of the state, had lost the bid to AEL in February, the state government has since been exerting pressure on the Centre and PMO to get the rights of the airport through various channels.
