Gulbarga, Shimoga airports stuck with Maytas?

Bangalore: Maytas Infra has sought the state government's "support'' in completing the proposed airports in Gulbarga and Shimoga. The company,
that has been on a radar of concern following the turn of events at its parent company Satyam Computers, has made the request citing a general economic slowdown and dip in air traffic.
The nature of support sought is still unclear but at a time when the government is re-assessing the potential impact on projects taken up by Maytas in the state, it looks like a distant shot.
Though the company maintained that it is in the process of bagging all the required clearances for the projects and set to commence construction in April this year, it has made the request due to concerns over dipping real estate and air traffic. The promoters' consortium is expected to invest Rs 100 crore each on the proposed greenfield airports.
The real estate leverage that the airport projects bring along has been highlighted by the company in its request to the government.
The company, though, pointed out that local clearances and environmental clearance have been obtained for both projects. The defence ministry has also directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to prepare an operating procedure for the Gulbarga airport because the airspace for the airport falls between defence airspaces at Bidar and Pune.
17/01/09 R Krishnakumar/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009, Merchant Airports Jan 2009, New Jan 2009