THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Adani group has won the bid to operate and manage the Trivandrum International Airport for a period of 50 years. The multi-national company has also won the bids for running four other airports: Lucknow, Jaipur, Mangalore and Ahmedabad.The bids for the Guwahati airport have not yet been opened after the HC issued a stay order.Winning the bid to run the Trivandrum airport would be most significant for the Adani group, as it has been building a seaport at nearby Vizhinjam and had taken on the state government head on while bidding for the contract.The bids for PPP model operation and management of the airports were invited by the Airport Authority of India based on the per-passenger fee for domestic passengers.As per-passenger fee, the Adani group offered Rs 168 for the Trivandrum airport. It was followed by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), which quoted Rs 135 and the lowest bid came from GMR Group, which offered Rs 63 a passenger.The state government had earlier opposed the decision to privatize the airport and later formed the KSIDC to participate in the bid.It was given the offer for right of first refusal on condition that it could exercise its privilege only if the top bid was 10% higher than the KSIDC’s quote. However, the Adani group’s bid was 24% higher than KSIDC’s bid, making it impossible for the KSIDC to exercise the option. The reports of the Adani group wining the airport management contract invited sharp reaction from chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. While speaking at a function in Alappuzha, Vijayan alleged Adani group must have got undue benefits.“Strange things took place during the bidding process for managing and operating six airports in the country. Both Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani are friends. But Adani group has no experience in operating an airport. So, it is natural to doubt the bidding process when a single company wins the bid to operate five out of six airports in the country. We suspect that the centre government has staged a drama in the name of bidding process to favour the Adani group,” Vijayan said. The CM said the Adani group alone can’t develop the Thiruvananthapuram airport. “The aircraft fly in the sky but the infrastructure should be developed in the land. The land should be acquired by the state government,” Vijayan said.CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the government will counter the move by the Modi government to handover Thiruvananthapuram airport to Adani. “When the Centre tried to privatise the airport, the state had informed the Centre that it is ready to take over the airport based on the CIAL-model. However, the Centre did not agree,” he said in Kottayam.CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said: “The Centre did not consider the applications from the state government and firms with experiences in airport operation. The decision to transfer the operations of five airports to Adani group can be only seen a corrupt move,” said Rajendran.Following the announcement that the Adani group has won the bid, INTUC workers at the Airport Authority of India, conducted a march to the accountant general’s office. The airport authority employees at the Trivandrum International Airport, have begun an indefinite hunger strike from Monday. Former KPCC president V M Sudheeran inaugurated the strike. Sudheeran said the state government’s decision to participate in the bidding process was a folly. “The government could have challenged the tender in the court and should have opposed the process of privatization vehemently,” he said.

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