Airport development: Govt to sign development agreement

New Delhi, Apr 2: The Delhi and Mumbai airports privatisation plan will move another step ahead as the government has decided to sign the operation, management and development agreements (OMDAs) with two private developers on April 4.

Sources in the civil aviation ministry said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will sign the agreements with private joint venture partners -- GMR and GVK consortiums -- that have bagged the contracts for modernisation of the country's busiest airports.

''The agreement will lay down the guidelines as to how the activities should be carried out post-privatisation,'' an AAI spokesperson said.

The agreements are being signed between the developers and the AAI for a period of 30 years, he said.

The joint ventures that were required to be formed and registered under the Companies Act have since come into effect.

While the government has 26 per cent holding in the two newly-formed ventures, GMR and GVK have 74 per cent stake each in the Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Sources said nine directors from GMR have been chosen to be on the board, along with three from AAI, on the new venture for the Delhi airport. A similar equation has been worked out for the Mumbai airport, sources said.

UNI