Tatas back in airport project

BANGALORE, July 24: The international airport project proposed near Devanahalli on the City outskirts got a fresh lease of life on Friday...

BANGALORE, July 24: The international airport project proposed near Devanahalli on the City outskirts got a fresh lease of life on Friday with Tata-led consortium offering to have a fresh look into the deal. quot;There is no question of withdrawal from the project,quot; Chief Minister J H Patel told presspersons after a 120-minute talks with Ratan Tata, the Chairman of Tata group. quot;Tata will meet the Civil Aviation ministry officials, and later we will hold another round of talks,quot; he added.

It may be recalled that there were reports suggesting that the Tatas have decided to pull out from the project following delay in various clearances. The project has been hanging fire for quite some time. The thrust of Friday8217;s talks centered around the delay in the execution of the project and the consequent escalation in the project cost. Patel, however, did not reveal that Tata indicated anything about cost escalation but only said the consortium was looking into economic viability of the projects.

Asked if Tatas wereinsisting on build-operate-own BOO or build-operate-own-transfer BOOT, Patel said the issue did not figure as the project would be a joint venture between the Tata-led consortium, the Government of Karnataka and the Civil Aviation ministry. Patel, while stating that Tatas never said that the project had been shelved during the talks, said the consortium partners, who included multinational Raytheon and the Shanghai Airport of Singapore, had expressed apprehension over the economic viability of the project in view of the delay.

The Chief Minister said the Tatas appreciated the concern showed by the State Government towards the project, and described the talks as quot;most fruitfulquot;.

When asked if the issue of the continuation of the present Bangalore Airport was also discussed, Patel said that it would also be part of the issues that Tata would discuss with Civil Aviation Minister Anantkumar. Tata declined to answer reporters8217; queries, saying the Chief Minister would do that.

Meanwhile, the Tata Airlinesproject has found an unlikely supporter, in the Indian Airlines Officer8217;s Association IAOA. The 800-odd member IAOA8217;s general secretary, G Ramesh, has sent an express note to the chairman and managing director of IA stating that they are not against entry of more private operators or the 49 per cent disinvestment by Indian Airlines Ltd.

Recent reports had indicated that the IAOA had serious reservations against both developments and were worried about the safekeeping of their professional interests.