| THE State Government on Monday cleared the release of Rs 315 crore of interest-free loan and Rs 107 crore advanced development fees as grant to the international airport project at Shamshabad near Hyderabad.
The GMR-Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhard (MAHB) consortium, which has projected a total cost for phase one at Rs 1,162 crore, is expected to sign up with the State Government and the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
The project's equity participation will be in the ratio of 74:13:13 (GMR-MAHB-AAI-State Government).
The Information Minister, Mr S. Chandramohan Reddy, told newspersons that the Government approved the recommendations of the Cabinet Subcommittee.
The advance development fees will be mobilised through a tax at the existing airport. The cost of the project is expected to exclude Rs 245 crore towards land cost and external infrastructure.
Mr Reddy said that State support and shareholders agreements will be signed with the consortium shortly. Thereafter, a concession agreement will be signed between the developer and the Government of India.
The detailed project report and financial closure are expected to be achieved by late 2004. The Centre has agreed to allow collection of advance development fees at the Begumpet airport and collection of user development fees at the new one to partly meet the projected revenue gap, which the developers wanted the Government to help bridge.
Bridge over Krishna: Meanwhile, the Cabinet also approved Navayuga Engineering Company as the developer for a Rs 71-crore project that will construct a bridge across Krishna river between Puligadda and Penumudi on build-own-transfer basis.
The proposed bridge will come up on the National Highway, connecting the Krishna and Guntur districts. The State Government has provided a Rs 36.98-crore subsidy for the project, Mr Reddy said.
The Government has also agreed to allot 1,800 acres to the DVS Raju-Dubai Ports International consortium to take up work on a Rs 2,000-crore Gangavaram port project.
Some 1,400 acres will be acquired from the Vizag Steel Plant and 400 acres from Yarada village, which would constitute the State Government's 11 per cent equity.
In addition, the State Government will provide necessary external infrastructure such as road connectivity from National Highway 5, water and power supply and relocation of fish landing centre at an estimated cost of Rs 43 crore.
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