GMR Infra to step up aviation play

Hyderabad: GMR Infrastructure Ltd, after the success of its two airport projects, is now eyeing a bigger play in the aviation space.
The company is now working on a plan to keep the smaller airports and look for opportunities in the bigger airports after the successful execution of its two airport projects -- the greenfield airport at Hyderabad and the brownfield project at Delhi International Airport.
While the Hyderabad airport has been designed to handle 12 million passengers initially, the Delhi airport has already handled over 22 million passengers in the year-ended March 2009.
Though company officials refused to comment on its airport strategy, sources said GMR Infra was now eyeing bigger projects that would have a capacity to handle over 5 million passengers. These airports would meet international standards and have additional property value in terms of facilities around the airport, which include hotels, entertainment, etc. These additional features would also add to the earnings of the pure-play airport businesses. In fact, this would be the key highlight of GMR Infra's bids for any of its future aviation projects, sources said.
The company is pursuing the airport segment despite a fall in passenger traffic in the two airports in the previous year. In Hyderabad, for instance, the passenger traffic is estimated to have dropped by about 11%. However, GMR Infra is confident of gaining the lost passenger traffic, primarily due to expectations of a reversal in the slowdown sometime later this year.
In fact, with the UPA government expected to renew its focus on infrastructure, the players in the sector are expecting bigger opportunities in the days to come.
09/06/09 K V Ramana/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Jun 2009, New Jun 2009