GMR group to operate Hyderabad airport for another 30 years

Hyderabad: The GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), a step-down subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL), has received a letter of confirmation from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) extending the term of the Concession Agreement for operating the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here for a further period of 30 years, from March 23, 2038 up to March 22, 2068.

This extension is in terms of the Concession Agreement dated December 20, 2004, a press release from GHIAL said.

RGIA, which completed 14 years of operations in March this year, has developed into a gateway to South and Central India. It was commissioned in a record time of 31 months and inaugurated in March 2008. The initial capacity of the airport was 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA), which went up to 21 MPPA in 2019.

The airport presently is undergoing a major expansion, post which the capacity will get enhanced to 34 MPPA. The airport has 150,000 tons of cargo handling capacity per annum. The airport master plan has the flexibility to increase the ultimate capacity to over 100 MPPA in phases, the press release said.

RGIA was India’s first greenfield airport built under public private partnership model. It was also the first airport in India to introduce a unique e-boarding solution. RGIA is now the fourth busiest airport in the country.