Excerpt on Airports from http://us.rediff.com/money/2005/jan/29spec.htm
Grounded? If there is one thing that could ground Praful Patel's well-crafted plans it is the state of the country's airports. All the international airports are bursting at their seams, while the domestic airports are in no position to cope with additional flights. Patel says he is aware of the problem and is embarking on an ambitious Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) project to upgrade the airport infrastructure in the country. The airport modernisation plan will start with the privatisation and upgradation of Delhi and Mumbai airports. In the second phase the other two metro airports -- Kolkata and Chennai -- will be upgraded through public-private participation. Simultaneously, he has kicked off an exercise to develop 23 non-metro airports. To generate funds for the development of these airports, the government will undertake commercial development of the "city facing" land of these airports. To this effect, the Airports Authority of India has shortlisted two consortiums, one led by Ernst & Young and the other by UTI Bank, to come up with a detailed business plan for 10 airports within the next three months. AAI is expected to come out with another tender for the remaining 13 airports shortly. The consultants are required to ascertain how the land owned by these airports can be commercially utilised. Various possibilities like setting up shopping malls, multiplexes and hotels are likely to be considered. Some of these airports are known to own 80-100 acres of land, which can be developed for a range of commercial activities. Once this exercise is closed, another 30 airports will be taken up for upgradation. Besides, Patel also plans to develop greenfield airports with an investment of over Rs 6, 000 crore (Rs 60 billion) in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Kannur and the multi-modal international hub in Nagpur. [Note: Bangalore and Hyderabad greenfield airports are deemed to be already "in process" -- PST]
