As Delhi dithers

Airport construction and expansion have become political and regulatory minefields in many parts of the world, above all in those where oppo...

Airport construction and expansion have become political and regulatory minefields in many parts of the world, above all in those where opponents are free to object through the courts and the ballot box. Even so, the muddle and indecision engulfing India’s plans to modernise its shamefully decrepit facilities take some beating.

Rapid decisions are vital because inadequate capacity is choking the growth of air travel and of the economy as a whole; because airport modernisation is a litmus test of India’s determination to proceed with much-needed investment in other types of infrastructure, such as electricity and roads; and because the programme is widely viewed as a gauge of the country’s readiness to open up to foreign capital and management expertise…

From the outset, the government has proceeded as if it were less interested in pushing ahead purposefully than in avoiding blame by political opponents if anything went wrong. It set excessively onerous and discriminatory conditions that put off many experienced foreign airport operators, because they could not see how they could earn a reasonable financial return.

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Singapore, which did enter the bidding, withdrew in frustration. Others were eliminated by an overly rigid assessment system…

Praful Patel, the reformist civil aviation minister, wants a decision by the end of the month. If the government is to retain any credibility, this deadline must be kept. Contracts must be awarded quickly and the winners allowed to get on with the job.

When India unshackles the private sector, things get done: witness the lower prices and much improved choice and service standards since it introduced competition in domestic air transport a few years ago. But delays in airport modernisation are squandering the benefits of airline liberalisation. Delhi has run out of excuses for political and bureaucratic dithering. If ever there was a time to show it is serious about reform, it is now.

Excerpted from an editorial in the ‘Financial Times’, January 24

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