CAG report: GMR says Delhi Airport has not received undue benefits

GMR Infrastructure has reacted to the The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled report on the Implementation of Public-Private Partnership at Indira Gandhi International Airport and has said that the Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL) has not received any undue benefits from the government before, during or after the bidding process.

"The entire process of the privatization and selection of Joint Venture was based on a transparent, international, competitive bidding which was guided and presided over by competent bodies and has been upheld as such by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in 2006," GMR has said in a release to the National Stock Exchange.

"It is alleged that with the airport modernization project DIAL was effectively handed over land
valued at Rs. 1,63,557 Crore for only Rs. 100 per year. The purpose of leasing the airport land by AAI to DIAL was neither sale of land nor earning of a rental income from it. The basis of providing the concession to operate the airport was the revenue share quoted by the bidders to AAI. The entire commercial land available with DIAL neither has any immediate commercial value nor can be put to use and therefore cannot be monetized immediately. Thus, just using value of one acre and extrapolating the same for the entire land parcel is at best an arithmetic exercise and not practical," GMR has stated.

The firm has said that the allegation that Airport Development Fee (ADF) was an afterthought and done only to benefit DIAL is absolutely untrue.

"ADF is allowed as per section 22 A of AAI Act 1994 as amended in 2003 - long before the
bidding process - and hence was known to all bidders. AAI Act is the primary governing legislation for the concession as provided in the transaction documents. The levy of ADF was upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court vide its order dated 26th April 2011," the release has stated.

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