MUMBAO: GMR Infrastructure announced that its subsidiary GMR Airports Limited (GAL), has submitted a bid for the development, operations and management (DOM) of New International Airport of Heraklion at Crete Island, Greece.
The scope of the project involves Design, Construction, Financing, Operation & Maintenance of the airport for a concession period of 35 years. Upon award, GAL will be the airport operator for this project. Under the bid conditions, it is mandatory for the airport operator to hold a minimum of 10% equity stake in the consortium.
GEK Terna Group is a leading Greek Infrastructure company having presence in construction, energy, mining, waste management, concessions, real estate development & facilities’ management. It is understood that this is the sole bid for this concession.
Commenting on the development, a GAL Spokesperson, said, “The bid submission is in line with the GMR Group’s asset light growth strategy with value build up from this project coming to GMR more from leveraging the airport platform, leading to enhanced revenue based services, than just equity.”
Greece is a major international tourist destination. It gets nearly 24 mn tourists per annum. Crete is the largest and most visited island in Greece. Heraklion airport, located in Crete, is the second largest in Greece and has seen steady traffic growth over the last 3-4 years. The current airport is facing capacity constraint and is not able to cope with growing traffic demand. The existing Heraklion airport will be closed once the new airport is operational.
GMR Group is a leading global infrastructure conglomerate with interests in airport, energy, transportation and urban infrastructure. It developed and operates India’s busiest airport- the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and Greenfield Rajiv Gandhi International airport at Hyderabad. It has also bagged right to develop and operate of Goa’s Greenfield Mopa airport.
GMR in partnership with Megawide Construction Corporation is developing Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in Philippines. The Group is also developing two Special Investment Regions at Krishnagiri and Kakinada and India’s largest Smart Airport City near Hyderabad International Airport.
Musafir Namah Bureau
