Six major players respond to Nagpur airport privatisation tender

NAGPUR: The Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport of Nagpur is headed for privatisation. Six companies have responded to the global tenders that were floated

NAGPUR: The Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport of Nagpur is headed for privatisation. Six companies have responded to the global tenders that were floated for the development and operation of the international airport.

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According to sources from the Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC), GVK, GMR, IRB Mumbai, Essel Infrastructure, PNC Infrastructure and Tata Realty have responded to the requested for qualification (RFQ), floated for the Nagpur airport.

The deadline for accepting the RFQs was extended thrice and six big players responded to the tenders after the government relaxed a few norms. This is being considered as biggest response ever to any airport privatisation bid in the country.

After the pre-bid meetings, Mihan India Limited (MIL) had rehashed a number of clauses in the RFQ document. The norms related to prior experience, crossholding among bidders, and formula of income sharing by the private player with MIL were eased. A few other clauses were also deleted.

For Goa airport, there were five bidders while four bidders responded for the Navi Mumbai airport. The good response to the Nagpur airport indicates the interest of the bidders because of its geographical location and benefits in the near future. On Thursday, several rounds of meetings were held between investor companies and top MIHAN India Ltd (MIL) officials. According to sources, all efforts are being taken by the MIL to ensure that the privatisation procedures take place soon.