Chennai: The Chennai airport may be leased out to a private consortium or agency on the lines of the Mumbai and Delhi airports. The airport has been beset with problems with its expansion getting unduly delayed, leading to a cost overrun of about 1,000 crore, and newly opened terminals battling quality issues.
The lease option is being considered in the light of a feeling among authorities that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) may not be competent enough to run a terminal that requires management systems and equipment of world-class standards.
AAI chairman V P Agrawal said, "The ministry has announced the new policy we are working towards it." But joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry Anil Srivastava was more forthcoming. He said: "Tenders will be floated and the lowest bidder will be allowed to handle the terminals. Discussions are on. It is very premature to say whether the airport will be leased out. We are trying out different options."
18/05/13 Times of India
