Monday, November 28 2005 19:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Days ahead of finalization of private bidders for restructuring of Delhi and Mumbai airports, Left parties have said their modernization would not address projected demands beyond next 5-6 years and sought construction of Greenfield airports in these and other metros.

"We feel the best course would be to go for creating truly huge capacity (airports) in Delhi and Mumbai and may be some other important metros through Greenfield projects," the four Left parties, who have been opposing airport privatization, said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Maintaining that this was the way most Southeast and East Asian nations had gone about on this issue, they said, "In that case, handing over the current modernisation programme can be left alone with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which will fill in the infrastructure constraint temporarily till the new greenfields are commissioned".

The letter, signed by Prakash Karat Communist Party of India (CPI) Marxist (M), A B Bardhan Communist Party of India (CPI), Abani Roy Republican Socialist Party (RSP) and Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc), said the Left parties firmly opposed 'any unilateral decision'for privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, which were 'two major profit centers' of a consistently profit-making PSU like AAI and 'that too without consultation or agreement with its 22,000 employees'.

The letter came in the wake of reports that the empowered Group of Ministers would meet on or around December five to select two private consortia, which would form joint venture companies with AAI to modernize the two airports.

Pointing out that National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government's decision to privatize the two airports instead of modernizing them as per the AAI plan had "halted" development work there, the Left leaders said, "We regret that in spite of the categorical commitment of the National Common Minimum Programme not to privatize profit- making PSUs, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government continued to pursue the same route of privatization of the top two major revenue-earning airports".

They said the AAI employees, including engineers, architects and professionals, have strongly opposed this route of modernization and had submitted an alternative plan.

Maintaining that AAI could tap finance from the debt market to modernize the two airports, the Left parties said the Parliamentary Standing Committee had also pointed out that the modernization proposal for Mumbai airport could augment its technical capacity by just 10-15 per cent.

"This modernization cannot address projected demand beyond 2012," they said.

In Delhi, the present phase does not address access to the airport and the question of traffic engineering and ensuring of exit and entryways to the terminal buildings.

The Left leaders said the 'best course' in this situation would be to create truly huge capacity airports at Delhi, Mumbai and other important metros.