Airports Authority of India halves debt requirement

New Delhi: Airports Authority of India (AAI) has halved its debt requirement for the 11th Plan (till March 2012) to Rs 2,800 crore from its earlier estimate of a little over Rs 5,000 crore.
The owner and operator of the largest number of airports across the country has managed to pare its debt requirement through efficient resource management and enhanced revenue generation. The AAI wasn’t left with much choice, since the government has failed to provide tax-free bonds worth over Rs 5,000 crore over the last several months.
Of the needed debt, AAI plans to raise Rs 600 crore this fiscal from the market. A senior AAI official pointed out various instances where the Authority has generated additional revenue. These include upfront payment for ground handling services, clearance of dues from oil marketing companies, realisation of old tax arrears and through the Airport Development Fee, which it has levied across some of its own airports.
Increased aircraft movement across big airports such as Delhi and Mumbai has also helped matters. AAI is eyeing Rs 300 crore additional revenue generation from these two airports alone because of increase air passenger traffic.
In addition, AAI is looking to generate money through auction of commercial space within airport terminals and city side development of at least 10 high-value airports such as Udaipur and Amritsar.
16/01/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Jan 2010