Adani Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd may take control of the airport by October 14. It won the bid for running the airport for 50 years, and has reported seeking an extension of three months to take over after signing the agreement with the Airport Authority of India (AAI), which expired on July 18.
According to the sources, the Centre has allowed the extension for three months, which will expire on October 18.
The company is preparing to take over the airport by October 14. The deputy officials of the company have also made arrangements for the same. The airport valuation assets have also been confirmed, which was listed for Rs 800 crore in the tender, and not valued at Rs 273 crore.
The government has yet not confirmed that the private company that won the bid would get the airport. It had previously announced that it would not allow private companies to run the airport in Thiruvananthapuram. It also announced that it would not sign the support agreement with the private company, which is necessary to ensure the basic utilities needed for running the airport.
In a meeting with the Airports Authority Employees Union and the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister confirmed that the state government would not cooperate with the private company. But, if the company comes with the court order, the state will have to support it.
The Airports Authority Employees Union secretary, S Ajith Kumar, said that it would not be easy for the company to take over the airport. A majority of the airports taken by the company, AAI is still paying the salary to the employees after the company refused to pay the citing losses because of absent flight operations. According to the bid document, the company has not even paid the passenger fee to AAI.
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