PPPAC Clears Third Round of Airport Privatisation Covering 11 Airports in Five Bundles
The Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC), chaired by Anuradha Thakur, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, gave in-principle approval in August 2026 to the third round of airport privatisation, covering 11 airports grouped into five bundles. The airports are Amritsar and Kangra; Varanasi, Gaya and Kushinagar; Bhubaneswar and Hubballi; Raipur and Aurangabad; and Tiruchirappalli and Tirupati. Private concessionaires are expected to invest about Rs 8,622 crore, and the airports will be leased under the Public Private Partnership model for a 50-year concession period. Concessionaires must retain 60% of Airports Authority of India (AAI) employees for a maximum of three years.
The Airports Authority of India was constituted in 1995 under the AAI Act, 1994; HQ New Delhi | AAI functions under the Ministry of Civil Aviation | PPPAC appraises central-sector PPP projects under the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance