Nine companies, including GMR Airports, the GVK Group, Tata Realty, and Adani Ports, have evinced interest in modernising airports at Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Ahemdabad.

The Centre plans to hand over to the private sector the modernisation work of these four airports, which are now run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The others interested are Essel, Siemens Postal Parcel and Airport Logistics Private Ltd, International Business Development Flughafen (Zurich), Flemingo Duty Free Shop Pvt Ltd, and Cochin International Airport.

At the first pre-bid meeting here on Wednesday, the representatives of some of these companies wanted the 30-year concession period extended.

Sources told BusinessLine that the representatives of the GMR and GVK groups had insisted that prior experience in developing airports be made mandatory for companies planning to bid for the projects.

There was also a request that the final number of companies being shortlisted for each airport be increased from six, which is the norm at present. Some representatives also sought details of the traffic projections for the airports and the methodology for tariff calculation.

Officials from the AAI and other agencies present at the meeting will soon respond to these and other queries raised at the meeting, said a senior AAI official.

While end March has been set as the deadline for companies to put in their bids, at the moment there is no time table to hand over the airports to the private sector.

Meanwhile, AAI employees held lunch-hour demonstrations in various cities, including Chennai and Delhi, to protest the Centre’s move to hand the four airports over to the private sector.

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