Patel: Stalled

New Delhi, July 5: Minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel has said the airports in Delhi and Mumbai are not being privatised but instead will be ‘restructured’ and ‘modernised’.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with the leaders of the four Left parties to discuss the airport privatisation issue is now expected to take place tomorrow. It had earlier been scheduled over the weekend.

The meeting is supposed to discuss ways to iron out issues to facilitate a solution to the vexed issue as Left parties are trying to stop the sale of the airports.

Patel’s statement is being seen as an attempt to allay the apprehensions of the Left parties and trade unions. Patel said the Left parties would be taken into confidence on any decision pertaining to restructuring and modernising these airports.

Patel said, “We will address the concerns of the Left parties and trade unions. We are talking to them and trying to explain to them. These discussions will continue. We want to avoid any confrontation.”

The resolving of the airports issue is being seen as crucial as several other privatisation initiatives in the works cannot go through till this is resolved. These include the controversial plans to sell off the remaining 49 per cent stake in Balco to Sterlite.

Patel, who was speaking after the signing ceremony of a concession agreement for the first greenfield airport coming up at Bangalore, remained non-committal on whether Alliance Air, the subsidiary of Indian Airlines, will be converted into a low-cost carrier to face the competition in this sector. “Our airlines will face this emerging competition. Let the competition come, we will address the issue,” said Patel.

The proposed airport at Bangalore will have a runway designed to accept Boeing-747 type of aircraft. The airport will be adequate to accommodate a mix of minimum 20 aircraft.