AAI to soon exit government's joint venture airports

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will begin to exit the joint venture (JV) airports with the government planning to divest its stakes in the airports.

In Delhi and Mumbai, AAI has a 26% stake and 13% in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

According to the sources, the Ministry of Aviation has moved a cabinet note, seeking approval to divest AAI's stake and start with Hyderabad and Bengaluru first, followed by Mumbai and Delhi.

Earlier this month, AAI planned the privatisation of 13 or more airports by cubbing the small seven airports with the six large airports.

According to Niti Aayog's National Asset Monetisation Pipeline, the government plans to raise Rs 20,782 crore by aviation assets in FY22-25 by privatizing 25 AAI airports and selling AAI's stake in JV airports.

According to a document, out of the total, Rs 10,000 crore of monetisation value are being considered based on the divestment of AAI stake in JV airports. The same has been planned for FY22 and FY23. The actual selling of AAI stakes will depend on transaction timing, market conditions, and transaction terms. The asset monetisation value of Rs 10,782 crore in FY 22-25 have been considered on the estimated capex towards identified airports.

The overall airport monetisation accounts for about 18% of the AAI's total aviation assets. The airports have annual traffic of over 4 lakh in FY19, and 2020 have been considered.

For the first time, smaller airports have been clubbed with larger ones on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, where the revenue share model of a private company expands and the ownership remains with the government.

These airports are privatised on a standalone model. The promoter of Mumbai Airport has the right to build Mumbai International Airport Limited that has won the bid.

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