| The Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, which has got the green signal subsequent to the signing of a concession agreement with various stakeholders, is hopeful of achieving the breakeven point eight years after it starts commercial operations.
It will require about 5-6 million passenger per annum and 45,000-50,000 air traffic movements per year to achieve the breakeven point. The airport is expected to be open for commercial operations in the second quarter of 2008.
The company, that will design-build-finance-operate-maintain the airport, is now looking at tying up financial support and alliances with domestic and global airlines that could consider Hyderabad as a hub.
Addressing a press conference, HIAL managing director Kiran Kumar told reporters that the company would be talking to both foreign and domestic airlines to have their primary/secondary or maintenance hub in Hyderabad airport. Air Sahara has already announced that it would set up its hub in Hyderabad.
The airport is in talks with Lufthansa and several other European carriers for setting up their hub. Mr Kumar said, the next phase of the Rs 1,418-crore project would be to achieve financial closure.
The company is in talks with leading financiers apart from consortium of banks. It is expected that the financial closure would be achieved in the next six months. The debt-equity ratio of the project would be in the region of 3:2. |
