The Airports Authority of India and operator of Singapore’s Changi Airport have signed an agreement and the latter has become the first foreign company to manage Indian airports. Changi has been awarded with contracts for Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports. There was no bidding for the contract and the decision was made during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore. However, financial terms have not been finalised yet. AAI wants to compete against global airport majors in bidding for the Goa airport. AAI will likely form a special purpose vehicle to bid for the Rs 3,000 crore project. With growth in India’s domestic air traffic, more and more global players are showing interest in Indian airports. As per International Air Transport Association data , October’s revenue passenger kilometers rose 17.6% in India’s domestic sector with China following India registering growth of 12.8%. Meanwhile, Ahmedabad has a huge traffic mainly from corporate executives, whereas India’s pink city of Jaipur has more foreign and domestic tourists coming in. India is likely to see an average annual increase in infrastructure spend of 15.4%, amounting to around $14 billion over the next decade.
