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Government to allow full investment of consortia in airport projects

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar says the Centre will now allow 100 per cent participation by international consortia with local partners for investment in the construction of airports in the country.

Speaking after inaugurating the first Electronic International Exhibition and Conference Nepcon India 98 in Bangalore, he said the Centre had decided to allow consortia to invest fully as against the earlier 74 per cent international participation in this area.

Ananth Kumar said his ministry would clear the international airport project at Devanahalli within a week if the Tata consortium approached them. During his recent meeting with Ratan Tata, he said the Tata chairman had promised to come back to him after revaluating the project with the consortium partners-- Raytheon and the Singapore consortium, besides consulting Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel.

Ananth Kumar said the review of the project was not put forth by his ministry, but was suggested by Tata himself during the meeting.

He said he had agreed to release the excess land held by the airport authorities near the Bangalore airport for construction of a four-way freeway to develop the Whitefield information technology corridor.

If the four-lane highway was completed, the proposed Pragati Maidan- like exhibition complex, international technology park, besides the airport would be immensely benefited.

UNI