Is the public-private partnership model the method most countries are following for modernising their airports?
Countries are by and large opting for one of the two methods one is the public-private partnership (PPP) model as has been adopted here in India, and the other is corporatisation. In Europe, many of the airports are being corporatised. Initially, they are government departments but are later converted into companies. The companies, then, are either partially or fully privatised by raising capital from the market through IPOs or by just blocking sales of a certain percentage of equity. In some cases, there is a partial listing as in the case of Fraport. The government is still the majority owner but the companies have access to capital through the markets. In these cases, the focus is not infrastructure development; it is more the ability to access the value of the company. In PPP cases, the government basically wants something done. It allows the private sector access to the revenue streams of the airport in return for a better terminal building. The private sector finds the finance fo
