The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for leasing out three airports namely Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports of Airports Authority of India (AAI) through Public Private Partnership (PPP). Its been leased out to M/s Adani Enterprises Ltd for Operation, Management and Development. The lease is for a period of fifty years.

The Central government had listed out benefits behind the move to lease out airports by adopting the PPP model.

    • By adopting the PPP model, there would be efficiency, expertise, and professionalism. Apart from this, the public sector needed investments, the central government said.

    • PPP in airport infrastructure projects has so far ensured world-class infrastructure at airports, and augmentation of revenue. The quality of services to airport passengers has also improved. Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Cochin are run through this PPP model, the Modi government said.

    • The PPP airports in India are consistently ranked among the top 5 in their respective categories by the Airports Council International (ACI) in terms of Airport Service Quality (ASQ).

    • The PPP model has also helped AAI in enhancing its revenues and focusing on developing airports and Air Navigation infrastructure in the rest of the country.

    • Revenue received by AAI from PPP partners enabled AAI to create infrastructure facilities in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and also to upgrade their airports to international standards.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants)