The Hindu Business Line : Govt to examine report on Delhi, Mumbai airports' revamp today

THE Government is likely to examine tomorrow the report of the high-powered E. Sreedharan committee on modernisation and restructuring of the Delhi and Mumbai airports.

The Government had constituted a panel of technical and financial experts headed by Mr Sreedharan, who is the Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, to advise the committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary, Mr B.K. Chaturvedi.

The Committee is to advise the Cabinet Secretary Committee on whether the overall process was in conformity with the laid down norms for shortlisting and final selection of bidders for the two metro airports.

While officials refused to comment on the report, sources indicated that there were some areas where there were differences between what earlier committees had said and the latest report.

Meanwhile, Mr Manoj Bhattacharya, a Left party MP, has written to the Cabinet Secretary asking that in the "best national interest" the process should be scrapped.

"The process should start afresh by handing over the modernisation plan to Airports Authority of India (AAI) and DMRC and if needed, another national or international technical expert," he has said.

The Government has received six bids for the restructuring of the Mumbai airport and five for the Delhi airport.

The five bidders for Delhi airport are GMR, which has teamed up with the operators of Frankfurt airport, Fraport; Reliance, which had submitted a bid with ASA Mexico; DS Construction, which had a tie-up with the Munich airport; Macquire in tie-up with Airport de Paris; and the Essel group in association with Turkish airport operator, TAV.

For the Mumbai airport, the Government has also received a bid from the GVK group in tie-up with the South African airport.

The process has been mired in controversy as the report of the advisors had only qualified two of the six bidders - Reliance and GMR.