The Bangalore headquartered GMR Group is set to participate in the modernisation of airports in Brazil, Group Chairman, Mr G.M. Rao has said.

“This will be the first time that GMR Infrastructure will be bidding alone for a project. The Brazil airport (bid) is coming at the end of January. Brazil is only giving 51 per cent equity, they want to keep 49 per cent with the (country's) Airport Authority. We decided to go alone because if we give to Malaysian (airports) then we will not have a majority. Wherever we do projects we want to have majority share holding,” Mr Rao told newspersons invited by the Company to witness the ground breaking ceremony for a new airport terminal in Maldives. GMR is partnering with Malaysian Airport for the modernisation of the Male airport here.

Brazil is taking up the modernisation of airports ahead of the 2014 soccer world cup which the South American country is hosting.

Currently, the GMR Group operates the Hyderabad, Delhi and the Istanbul airports.

‘Not into real estate'

Meanwhile, the Group has decided against participating in the city side developments of airports in India. “We are not interested in real estate. We are not a construction company or a real estate company. We are project developers. We are the only company in the world to have developed the competence to build and operate from A to Z. We operate everything from the IT systems to airport operations, buildings, duty free shopping, food and beverages. We have developed expertise in all these in the last 10 years,” Mr Rao said.

> ashphadnis@thehindu.co.in

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