The Hindu Business Line : AAI awaits Mini Ratna status

Kolkata, Aug 13 The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is expecting to be awarded the Mini Ratna status soon in recognition of sound performance over the years. The status, issued by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) would allow greater financial and administrative autonomy to AAI while helping to speed up different modernisation projects, sources from AAI told Business Line.

Mini Ratna is granted by the Centre to public sector undertakings in view of consistent performance records, annual investment figures and profitability. According to the sources, a memorandum of understanding was signed last week between top officials of AAI and representatives of different airports to consistently achieve the requisite targets.

“We have qualified for the Mini Ratna status and the formal approvals would follow shortly,” a senior AAI official said. The arrangement would help AAI to take up in-house development of airports at a much larger scale while speeding up modernisation of different smaller airports, he said.It would also simplify the clearances for importing equipment of large investments, he added. Most of the equipment required at different airports is sourced from Europe and the US.

Mini Ratna would allow AAI to take up investments up to Rs 500 crore at any airport without having to go through the complex procedures of prior government approvals. It is also considered a stepping-stone in graduating to the more prestigious Navratna status, which allows higher autonomy.

While AAI had been earning revenues consistently, an important parameter for Mini Ratna, profitability had been affected to some extent by the withdrawal of passengers in the last few months, the official said.

This, however, is a temporary dip, he believed, stressing that the situation is expected to improve from October. Other than revenue earned from airlines over-flying or landing at airports, AAI also earns non-traffic revenues out of leasing out commercial space, advertisements, car parking in the airport area, he added.

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