Puducherry govt mulls PPP mode to expand airport

16 Mar 2023 CW Team

In response to questions from Leader of the Opposition R Siva (DMK), R B Ashok Babu (BJP), and K Venkatesan (BJP), Lakshminarayanan stated that Rs 425 crore is required to acquire 273 acres of land in Tamil Nadu and 20 acres in Puducherry, according to the Airports Authority of India's detailed project report (DPR).

The Puducherry government has asked the Centre to provide special financial assistance for the March 23, 2022 acquisition, as well as follow-ups in April, June, and July. Following that, a proposal was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which included the valuation report from the Villupuram district collector. The MHA has yet to respond, according to Lakshminarayanan.

At a high-level committee meeting organised by the MHA in collaboration with the governments of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, the latter stated that the process of land acquisition will be initiated depending on whether the Centre or Puducherry provides compensation to land owners, Lakshminarayanan added. In response, Siva suggested that the Tamil Nadu chief minister be approached about land acquisition.

While waiting for a response from the MHA, the Puducherry government is also looking into the PPP funding model, according to Lakshminarayanan. A meeting with MHA and AAI officials had been planned for January, but it was cancelled. He added that efforts are now being made to schedule a new meeting. With the Puducherry government still paying compensation of Rs 30 crore for the 150 acres of land acquired during the project's early days, this could be the union territory's share of the PPP investment, along with Rs 8 crore spent on security and electricity. Lakshminarayanan went on to say that compensation would be based on the market value of the land in the respective areas.

Also Read
Railways Minister says the first bullet train to run by 2026
NLC establishes green energy joint venture with Assam Discom

While the union territory government awaits the Centre's response on the provision of special funds for the expansion of Puducherry airport, PWD Minister Lakshminarayanan said in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that the union territory government is also considering the public-private-partnership, or PPP, mode of funding the project. In response to questions from Leader of the Opposition R Siva (DMK), R B Ashok Babu (BJP), and K Venkatesan (BJP), Lakshminarayanan stated that Rs 425 crore is required to acquire 273 acres of land in Tamil Nadu and 20 acres in Puducherry, according to the Airports Authority of India's detailed project report (DPR). The Puducherry government has asked the Centre to provide special financial assistance for the March 23, 2022 acquisition, as well as follow-ups in April, June, and July. Following that, a proposal was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which included the valuation report from the Villupuram district collector. The MHA has yet to respond, according to Lakshminarayanan. At a high-level committee meeting organised by the MHA in collaboration with the governments of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, the latter stated that the process of land acquisition will be initiated depending on whether the Centre or Puducherry provides compensation to land owners, Lakshminarayanan added. In response, Siva suggested that the Tamil Nadu chief minister be approached about land acquisition. While waiting for a response from the MHA, the Puducherry government is also looking into the PPP funding model, according to Lakshminarayanan. A meeting with MHA and AAI officials had been planned for January, but it was cancelled. He added that efforts are now being made to schedule a new meeting. With the Puducherry government still paying compensation of Rs 30 crore for the 150 acres of land acquired during the project's early days, this could be the union territory's share of the PPP investment, along with Rs 8 crore spent on security and electricity. Lakshminarayanan went on to say that compensation would be based on the market value of the land in the respective areas. Also Read Railways Minister says the first bullet train to run by 2026 NLC establishes green energy joint venture with Assam Discom

Real Estate

31 Oct 2025

Birla Estates Tops Global GRESB 2025 Rankings

Birla Estates (BEPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Real Estate (formerly Century Textiles and Industries Limited), has been recognised as a Sector Leader in the 2025 GRESB Real Estate Assessment, securing top honours across multiple global and regional categories.Birla Estates’ Achievements in GRESB 2025:Global Sector Leader – ResidentialGlobal Sector Leader – Non-Listed ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Asia – ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Non-Listed – Asia – ResidentialThese distinctions reaffirm Birla Estates’ exceptional performance in Environmental, ..

Infrastructure Transport

31 Oct 2025

Progota India Secures RDSO Clearance for Kavach 4.0

Concord Control Systems, one of India’s leading manufacturers of embedded electronic and critical system solutions, announced that its associate company, Progota India, has received Technical Prototype Clearance from the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for Kavach 4.0, the latest version of Indian Railways’ indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.With this clearance, Progota has been formally approved to execute its ongoing trial order from South Central Railway, marking a key milestone in India’s railway modernization journey. The approval also establishes P..

Infrastructure Urban

31 Oct 2025

MPS Interactive Systems Completes Full Acquisition of Liberate Group

MPS Interactive Systems (MPSi), a material subsidiary of MPS, has completed the acquisition of the remaining shareholding in the Liberate Group of Companies—comprising Liberate Learning, App-eLearn, and Liberate eLearning.With this transaction, MPSi now holds 100 per cent ownership of all entities within the Liberate Group, making them its wholly owned subsidiaries. The acquisition was executed in line with the valuation methodology defined in the original transaction documents.Commenting on the development, Rahul Arora, Chairman and CEO of MPS, said, “The corporate learning sector continu..