GVK wins bid to develop second Mumbai airport

Mumbai: India`s GVK, which operates Mumbai`s airport, has won the contract to develop a second outside the financial capital to ease congestion and cater for surging demand.

GVK outbid GMR Infrastructure Ltd, operator of New Delhi`s airport, for the 160 billion-rupee ($2.4 billion) Navi Mumbai project, Mohan Ninawe, a City and Industrial Development Corp. of Maharashtra (CIDCO) spokesman, told Reuters on Monday.

It will be built on a public-private partnership model, with the developer having to share part of the revenue.

GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) offered a 12.60 percent revenue share to CIDCO, higher than 10.44 percent offered by GMR, Ninawe said.

The new airport, first proposed in 1997 and approved by the government in 2007, had been delayed by problems in buying land and in gaining necessary government permissions such as environmental clearance.

The first phase of the airport is expected to be operational in 2019 and will be able to handle 10 million passengers annually, Ninawe said.

The new airport is expected to handle 60 million passengers in 2030 when it is expected operate at full capacity, he said.