20 airports to come under PPP mode

The government has decided to operate, manage and develop 20 airports across the country, including Chennai and Kolkata, through public-private partnerships (PPP).

The government has decided to operate, manage and develop 20 airports across the country, including Chennai and Kolkata, through public-private partnerships (PPP).

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While Requests for Qualification (RFQs) for Chennai and Lucknow have already been issued, RFQs for Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Guwahati are in the process and will be out this week, aviation minister Ajit Singh said addressing the state aviation ministers conference here on Tuesday.

Aviation ministry officials said 100 towns and cities had been identified for creating "basic airport infrastructure", with work to start soon in 20 of them.

Singh also appealed to state governments to slash value added tax (VAT) on jet fuel to 4%. Currently, VAT on jet fuel ranges from 4% to 30% and constitutes almost upto half of an airline's operating costs.