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Air-India sell-off ruled out; govt to spend Rs 16,000 crore on airport revamp

Union Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussian on Tuesday categorically stated that there was no move as of yet to divest Air-India as there were presently no buyers in the global aviation market which has been facing crisis.

Addressing mediapersons in Jalandhar, he said that the government's first priority was to strengthen Air-India by improving both on-board facilities as well as upgrading major airports in the country to international standards.

Divestment could be considered later, he added.

Referring to the country's international airports, the minister said that these were being upgraded through joint ventures with private companies.

This experiment was already on at Hyderabad and Bangalore airports and in the next phase, the airports of New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata would be made world class to match the best in the world, he added.

He said the government, in collaboration with private partners, will spend over Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion) for the upgradation of the four international airports at Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.

"A proposal in this regard will soon be tabled before Parliament for approval. Private investors will be invited for these joint ventures. About 74 percent of this Rs 16,000 crore investment will come from private shareholders, said Hussain in Jalandhar.

Hussian further said that the airports which have recently been given international status are those of Amritsar, Gaya and Jaipur.

Private investment would be invited for upgrading these three to match the best in the world after the ongoing work at these airports was completed, he added.

Regarding the financial position of Air-India, he said that in the last fiscal year the airlines earned a profit of Rs 24 crore (Rs 240 million) and this year's target was Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion). In the last six months, a profit of Rs 46.10 crore (Rs 461 million) has been earned.

It was after a gap of seven years that the country's premier airlines had earned profits and this would in the near future attract buyers when the government considers divestment of Air-India, he added.

He pointing out that a number of international airlines like Singapore Airlines, Swiss Airways and even British Airways were in the red.

Referring to the onboard facilities of Air-India, Hussian said that these were being upgraded to match the best airlines so as to attract customers.

He said that body massage facilities for passengers on board had been started on certain flights and these were appreciated and now move was on to extend this facility to other flights.

Questioned about the work at the Amritsar airport, he said that funds for this had already been made available and work was in progress.

He said besides the existing international flights operating from the Amritsar airport other airlines were being encouraged to start direct flights, to the holy city of Amritsar as the non-resident Indian population from Punjab was one of the highest.

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