For those who would give anything for a better airport for India's commercial capital, here is a piece of good news: Mumbai International Airport Private Limited has been given the job of revamping and upgrading it as per the global standards.
MIAL is a 74:26 per cent joint venture company between GVK-SA consortium and the Airports Authority of India. The consortium comprises GVK, Airports Company South Africa Limited and Bidvest Group Limited.
MIAL managing director G V Sanjay Reddy spoke at length about his company's plans on the project in an e-mail interview with rediff.com's Indrani Roy Mitra.
While giving the Mumbai international airport a facelift, would you be following any particular model? If yes, what is that?
Mumbai International Airport Private Ltd has partnered with the best in the world to develop, design, construct, upgrade, modernise, operate, maintain, finance and manage Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
The development of the airport is going to happen in three phases. The first phase is the 100-day plan, which has been branded as Parivartan to signify the change that will be brought about in the initial days primarily focussed on a few areas.
Parivartan, which is currently underway will focus on specific areas of improvement which include:
Terminals
- Kerbside improvements and Terminal entrances
- Improved housekeeping & maintenance
- Toilet upgradation
- Signages, Flight Information Display Systems and Public Address Systems
- Transit facilities
- Terminal furniture
- Opening of the new wing of the Terminal 1B
- Fire Safety
Airside
- Regulatory Compliance
- Safety and Security
Beautification
- Cleanliness of all areas and facilities in the airport
- Landscaping
HR Initiatives
- Employee Communication
- Training
- Change Management
Cargo
- Improve overall facilities and services
The second phase of development would be to upgrade the existing terminals, including Terminal 1A and the Terminal 2, which is the international terminal.
The third phase will be to implement the Master Plan, which will include brand new terminal, runway and cargo complex.
What is the kind of investment you will have to make towards revamping the Mumbai airport? Where will you raise the money?
Over the next seven years, MIAL plans to invest Rs 5,800 crore (Rs 58 billion) towards the modernisation of CSIA.
The modernisation is being done with a debt-equity ratio of 80:20. Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) will be raised through bank loans
What is the traffic at the Mumbai airport like? How do you see it changing over the next few years and what have you planned to accommodate the boom?
The Mumbai airport currently facilitates more than 500 aircraft movements per day, carries around 50,000 passengers daily resulting in handling about 37 per cent of India's air traffic. With over 17.66 million passengers last year and movement of over 490,000 tons of cargo per year, CSIA is the largest airport in India.
It is witnessing a phenomenal growth in traffic, which is much more than anticipated a few years ago. This necessitates the need for upgradation and development of new facilities at Mumbai, which is the top priority of MIAL.
The biggest problem for the Mumbai international airport happens to be lack of space. How do you plan to solve it? How will you counter the encroachment problem?
The space available to Mumbai airport is less as compared to the other international airports in India. This is one of the biggest challenges we have to counter. We will work closely with the government to resolve the encroachments issue.
MIAL has appointed Netherlands Airports Consultants B V (NACO), world's leading consultant in airport design, to assist us to develop the master plan for CSIA. We have also appointed Changi Airport from Singapore to review the master plan and also help in improving the operations and management of CSIA.
The Mumbai airport, as we all know, fails to meet the international standards. Revamping it, therefore, means starting from scratch. Please tell us how you have drawn up the priority-based to do list for the same?
MIAL's priority areas are included in Parivartan. These priority areas are the ones which can be immediately worked upon, improved and which are fundamental to passenger convenience such as cleanliness, kerbside traffic management, toilet upgradation, better signages, furniture, housekeeping and maintenance. We will simultaneously be focusing on employee communication which is equally important for the first 100 days.
What plans do you have for airport ground handling activities?
Currently, the ground handling is taken care of by the airlines and Cambatta. In due course, we will keep you informed if MIAL gets into this business.
Cargo is known to be the major revenue earner for Mumbai international airport. What plans do you have for better handling of cargo services?
As part of Parivartan, we are looking at developing and improving the cargo facilities. Over the time, we will look at a dedicated terminal for cargo operations.
To improve the facilities at the cargo complex, MIAL is looking at modernising and mechanising the entire cargo handling process, which will include handling, storage and retrieval. The plans will be completed in the next four months and we will implement the same in the next 12 months.
You mentioned during a press meet in Mumbai that you see the forthcoming Mumbai metro project facilitating communication to the airport. Could you please tell us what plans do you have in mind? Have you approached the Anil Ambani-backed project heads on this?
We are in talks with the government for linking the Mumbai airport to the Mumbai Metro so as to facilitate passenger movement. We have had no discussions with Reliance (Anil Ambani group) on this project.
There is talk that domestic airport at Mumbai will be shifted to Sahar. Will not that affect people, for there is a perennial jam in that area?
As per the master plan, the domestic terminals will be shifted to Sahar. In most parts of the world, domestic and international flights take off from the same airport. This is convenient for the passengers as well.
In order to facilitate better traffic movement into the airport, MIAL will be looking at developing an elevated expressway that directly connects from the Western Express Highway to the airport. We will also upgrade the existing roads close to the airport.
At the press meet, you also mentioned of building highways to ease Mumbai traffic congestion. Could you please elaborate?
There was no such mention.
As per your agreement with the AAI, you are supposed to absorb all the AAI staff for three years and after which at least 60 per cent of them. May we know what happens to the rest 40 per cent? Do you plan launching a VRS (voluntary retirement scheme)?
According to the operations, management, development agreement, 60 per cent of AAI employees will have to be absorbed by MIAL. We are not disturbing the existing setup. We are working closely with the existing staff and creating better facilities for the airport and employees. The rest of the 40 per cent will continue to remain with AAI.
When and how do you foresee the first phase of work to be over?
The first phase is Parivartan, which is already underway and is for a period of 100 days beginning May 3. It focusses on immediate areas of improvement.
Yours being a 30-year project, how do you see Mumbai airport 30 years down the line?
A world-class airport India will be proud of.
