GVK on lookout for overseas airport projects

Bangalore: GVK Group, which is modernising and upgrading the Mumbai International Airport, is scanning foreign geographies for airport development opportunities. It’s looking at airports in Prague, St. Petersburg and Mexico and is evaluating the privatisation processes in these countries. Rival GMR Infrastructure, which has Delhi and Hyderbad airports in its kitty, has already made a first by bagging a contract to develop an airport in Istanbul. GVK group has a JV with Airports Company South Africa for modernising the Mumbai airport.
Industry observers say that some of these overseas airports will witness very aggressive bidding by global players. Incidentally, GMR too is on the lookout for airport development opportunities in Eastern and northern Europe. GMR’s most aggressive overseas foray was by winning the bid to renovate the Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul that cost the group a concession fee of Rs 10,808 crore ($2.7 billion) to be payable to the local government over 20 years. GMR, which is looking at adding one more international airport project to its kitty in 2008, raised $1-billion through the QIP route for asset acquisitions and allocation of equity across its projects.
28/05/08 J Padmapriya/Economic Times

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Categories: Airports May 2008, Foreign May 2008, New May 2008