The work on restructuring Delhi and Mumbai airports would begin by the middle of next year and the process of selecting private joint venture partners for the Airports Authority of India for these two projects would be over in March, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Wednesday.

Technical bids from the nine short-listed JV companies would be invited by mid-January, he told the Consultative Committee of MPs attached to his ministry.

Patel maintained that Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) would be required for modernising and restructuring these two metro airports.

At the second meeting of the Committee, the members held a detailed discussion on the slums near the Mumbai airport, with the minister describing it as a major problem, not only for its expansion, but also from the angles of security and aesthetics.

Patel admitted that not much progress had been made in the efforts of the Airport Authority of India and the Maharashtra government to find a solution to the problem. However, an agency had now been appointed under the state government for relocation of the slums and the civil aviation ministry was hopeful of a solution.

The meeting also discussed the launch of the low-cost Air India Express, increasing international connectivity from Amritsar and the proposed bilateral agreement with the United States.