The Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision on the privatisation of four metro airports when it meets in New Delhi on Friday, with the civil aviation ministry recommending that no foreign airline or its subsidiary should be allowed to pick up a majority stake, official sources said on Thursday.

The civil aviation ministry has already sent its proposal on the issue to the Cabinet, which among other things includes floating of joint venture partnerships between the private party and Airports Authority of India, with the latter keeping only five per cent of the total stake and the rest going to a private partner, they said.

No foreign airline or its subsidiary would be allowed to pick up a majority stake in the airports as it could lead to a monopoly situation, they said.

A private party would be allowed to bid for two airports, but not for Delhi and Mumbai airports together, they said.  

The privatisation of the airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai was likely to yield an investment of about Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion) over the next few years, the sources said, adding the JVs would be an investment-driven than revenue-driven process. 

The government had earlier planned to lease the airports but later decided to float joint ventures with private parties, with the ministry suggesting that the private partner would have independence in the decision-making process.

The sources said the tenure of the JVs had been suggested to be thirty years after which the AAI would get back its ownership of the properties.

They said the Cabinet Committee on Divestment had put off the divestment of Centaur Hotel last Friday pending airport privatisation process so as to get a better price for the prime property which was likely to increase after development of the privatised airports in the vicinity to international standards.

They said the Centaur Hotel near IGI Airport would also have to be retained as a hotel by the private party, which takes it over later and added that a clause to that effect had been included in the proposed agreement.