Friday, January 6 2006 19:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Members of a Parliamentary Committee today (Jan 6, 2006) sought modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports without further delay, even as the Civil Aviation Ministry announced the appointment of a Task Force, lead arrangers and consultants for the development of 35 non-metro airports in a phased manner at a cost of Rs 5,500 crore.

Participating in a meeting of the Consultative Committee on Civil Aviation, chaired by Minister Praful Patel, the MPs pointed out that the process had been given a go-ahead by Parliament and should thus be given utmost priority, an official spokesperson said.

Regarding the 35 non-metro airports identified by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the members were informed that a Task Force has been constituted under the chairmanship of Member, Planning Commission, for finalisation of the financial model.

The report of the Task Force is expected this month, the spokesperson said.

M/S CRISIL, which had been appointed for establishing credit rating of AAI, had accorded 'AAA' rating with a stable outlook.

M/S A K Capital Services Limited was appointed as Financial Advisor-cum-Lead Arranger to advise AAI on possible debt funding options, timing on reaching the market and structure of the instruments among other issues.