MIAL frontrunner for project contract

Expect a dramatic corporate clash over the next five months as infrastructure firms battle it out for the contract to build the Navi Mumbai airport.

Expect a dramatic corporate clash over the next five months as infrastructure firms battle it out for the contract to build the Navi Mumbai airport.

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A day after the Union environment ministry cleared the airport, developers and large corporations began preparing for the bidding process that is likely to open by April 2011.

“We hope to float tenders by April next year and start construction in 12 months,” said Tanaji Santre, managing director of the City Industrial Development Corporation, the promoter of the airport.

Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the GVK-led private consortium that operates the existing airport, is the front-runner for the project. MIAL has the first right of refusal, which means it can bag the project even if its bid is 10 per cent lower than the highest bidder’s. “We are happy that the process for development of the Navi Mumbai airport is moving forward. We look forward to the bidding process,” said a GVK spokesperson.

The GMR group, which operates the Delhi and Hyderabad airports, are believed to the other big contender. “We are definitely interested in the project. We are waiting for the government to announce the modalities of the bidding,” said a company spokesperson. Industry sources said the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Airport Developers Ltd might also be a bidder.

“The company has done its homework by bagging the contract to redevelop five airports in rural Maharashtra,” said an industry source on condition of anonymity. The company is developing airports at Yavatmal, Baramati, Latur, Nanded and Osmanabad.