Thursday, August 3 2006 16:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: In a landmark development in Indian aviation, the managements of the country's two largest airports one in the national capital and the other in Mumbai - were Thursday taken over by two private consortiums.

A joint venture led by Bangalore-based infrastructure major GMR, named the Delhi International Airport Ltd, took charge of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi from state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI).

In Mumbai, India's commercial hub, the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was taken over by Mumbai International Airport Ltd - another joint venture led by GVK Industries, a Hyderabad-based diversified group.

The security, air traffic control, customs and immigration at these two airports would continue to be handled by the government, officials said after the formal handing over of the airports in the two cities.

"We have a mandate to build a world class airport by the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. And we will build one that will make Indians proud," GMR Chairman G.M. Rao said in the capital.

The handing over Thursday marked the end of a three month transition period for the AAI which now holds a 26 percent equity in the two airports - to hand over charge to the two consortiums.

And some changes are already visible at the two airports, said passengers. The toilets are cleaner, there are more trolleys, the waiting lounges have received a facelift and the number of ticketing counters has been increased.

"A new traffic management system, designed by the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, is also being deployed at the two airports to ease the congestion that we have been so used to in the past," an AAI official said in New Delhi.

Other plans at for the airports include new flooring at the terminals, a change of the façades, new false ceilings, and, eventually, integrated terminals for domestic and international flights, officials said.

The government had signed the operations, management and development agreements with the two consortiums on April 4 after they had won the mandate to upgrade and modernise the airports in January after an elaborate bidding process.

The agreements bind the shareholders for 30 years during which they will jointly develop, maintain and operate the two airports. The two consortia are scheduled to complete the project in 36 months, officials said.

The GMR consortium has Fraport, the Frankfurt airport managers, an Indian fund and the Malaysian airport's subsidiary as its partners, while the GVK-led group has tied up with a South African airport company and a fund from that country.

Last month, an eight-member team of the GMR consortium was taken on visit to two world-class airports in Asia Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Singapore Changi International Airport to get a global exposure of airports management.