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| NO SECOND AIRPORT AT METROS | |
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T HE Government has decided against setting up second international airports in or around New Delhi,Mumbai and Chennai. The TamilNadu and Uttar Pradesh governments have been pursuing the Centre for clearing their proposals to set up new international airports at Chennai and Greater Noida, respectively. The Civil Aviation Ministry is also against setting up of a new airport in Mumbai.The Ministry feels that setting up of second airports will affect the leasing out process of the airports in these three cities. The Centre has informed the TamilNadu Government that the privatisation process of the four international airports in the metros was at an advanced stage and is expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal. The U.P. government has been asked to undertake a techno-economic feasibility study so that the airport can be located along the proposed Taj expressway. The Civil Aviation Ministry is also planning to put in a clause in the bidding process which would give the first right of refusal to the private company operating the airport. The Centre has already started the restructuring process at major airports to upgrade them to world-class standards by giving them on a long-term lease. The Government feels that any major project, if taken up at this juncture, may jeopardise the leasing exercise, and adversely affect efforts to improve the existing airports to global standards. The Government has recently kicked off its airport privatisation programme with roadshows in Delhi and London, where major global operators registered their interest. Government sources have revealed that global airport operators, including those managing Frankfurt airport, Heathrow airport at London, Singapore and Malaysia and Charles de Gaulle in Paris, have evinced interest till now. Each bid will be a consortium comprising of foreign airport operator, financing company and a construction firm. The proposed payment structure would consist of two components: an upfront payment and an annual payment linked to traffic volumes. The government is planning to give out metro airports ___ Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai international airports on a long-term lease of 30 years. |
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Mobile cash card now in cops’ phone book! |
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The operators, however, claim they are experiencing wireless whiplash. "In the short term this will affect our business. We have taken a 90 per cent hit in volume since we started customer verification," says Sudershan Banerjee, CEO, Essar Cellphone. The pre-paid card has been a major driver of the mobile business in India. Its popularity can be measured from the fact that of the 6.7 million cellphone connections, nearly 60 per cent are pre-paid. Delhi-ites haven’t been singled out for special treatment. "Similar procedures will start falling in place in other circles as well," says Himanshu Kapania, CEO of Idea, Delhi’s fourth cellular player that will soon launch operations. Not playing ball will mean being downwardly mobile. Existing pre-paid customers are being intimated of the new regulations through SMS and ads." If they don’t fill up the forms, there’s no option but to cut their connection," according to an Airtel spokesman. |
