Will Zurich’s bid for Jewar airport challenge IGIA’s monopoly?
Flughafen Zurich winning the bid for the proposed Jewar airport in Uttar Pradesh is likely to bring a paradigm change to India’s airport sector, threatening monopolies for the first time, said sector experts.
If the project is completed on time, Jewar airport — projected as the second such facility for the National Capital Region — will compete with GMR-owned Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from 2023 to attract air traffic. This could be a threat to IGIA’s monopoly on air traffic in north India, which has made it the crown jewel in GMR Infrastructure’s airport portfolio.
Zurich Airport offered a revenue share of Rs 400.97 per passenger. GMR, which had the right of first refusal (RoFR), offered Rs 351 per passenger. It would have had the chance to match the highest bid only if its offer was within 10 per cent of it.
