Evaluation of bids from private sector companies for the city-side development of Amritsar International Airport in Punjab is under way, a senior official of Key Infrastructure Development Group, Airports Authority of India, told Projectmonitor. Whereas no official date has been declared for announcing the results and proceeding to invite requests for qualification, the same is expected over the next few weeks.
The government received 23 bids from private companies for the project till January 14, the last date of submission, and bids were opened for evaluation on January 16, 2008. The incumbent developer or consortium will be entrusted with maintenance of terminal building, development and operation of cargo facilities and city-side development of the airport. AAI will, however, be in charge of critical activities like air traffic control, security etc.
Some bidders in the race include IVRCL Infrastructures, GMR Infrastructure, Lanco Infratech, Larsen & Toubro, Atlanta, DS Constructions, Maytas Infrastructure, GVK Group and SREI Infrastructure. Most of the bidders have formed consortia, some with international players.
Meanwhile, AAI was scheduled to close bidding on January 24, 2008, for the city-side development of Udaipur Airport in Rajasthan. In early January 2008, fresh requests for qualification were invited when the area for city-side development was substantially increased from 11.43 acres to 50.93 acres. Last October, when bids were first invited over 10 companies, including Omaxe, GMR Group and Unitech, had responded.
India has planned to modernise and upgrade 35 non-metro airports in phases, by 2010, with a total investment of Rs 7,000 crore. Private sector participation is solicited in 25 of these airports with their overall investment placed at around Rs 1,500 crore. Airports Authority of India will undertake the airside development. Amritsar and Udaipur airports represent the first of the 25 airports.

— Venugopal Pilla