Mangaluru, Apr 16: In a bizarre claim, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu has said that the government has yet taken no decision on privatising Mangaluru International Airport.
He was responding to queries of media persons at a press conference in in the city. “There is no decision taken on that subject,” he said.
However, recent reports had suggested that model code of conduct imposed after the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls had put on hold the handing over of the six airports including Mangaluru to Adani.
Reports also suggested that the decision to defer handing over the six airports, at present run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), to Adani may have been prompted by the government’s intent to avoid a political controversy before the general elections. Such large contracts had become a subject of political controversies in the past.
“There is no need to award the projects in a hurry. It can be done in due course," a government official cited earlier.
Deferring the award of the projects till the election is over will reduce the chance of controversy, considering that all the six projects were won by a bidder who has little experience in managing airports. An email sent to the company seeking comments about the award of the projects remained unanswered till publishing of this story.
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