Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has said that Airports Authority of India (AAI) would be floated as a joint stock company by amendments in order to raise funds from market for carrying out modernisation of a large number of major airports across the country with an objective of listing it in the stock market.
The ministry would soon amend the AAI Act to corporatize the the government entity to help its financial future.
On the corporatization drive, the minister said funding becomes easier once it becomes a listed company. For amending the norms, the proposal would be tabled in Parliament latest by March 2010. Favoring private infrastructure firms, including those involved in airport modernisation, the minister said that they were listed companies and had good standing in the market.
AAI is also riding on its modernization ambitions for major airports in Kolkata and Chennai and 35 non-metro airports, requiring huge spend outlay.