GMR Group makes successful initial privatization bid for St Petersburg-located Pulkovo airport

Mumbai: Indian infrastructure major, GMR Group, operators of the new international airport at Hyderabad and the IGI airport at New Delhi and also successful bidders for the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SGIA) at Istanbul, Turkey, is now in the race for Russia's third-largest Pulkovo airport located at St Petersburg. GMR's bid came in after the Russian government included Pulkovo airport in the list of facilities that were up for privatisation.

GMR Infrastructure has now been identified as an eligible bidder and a second round of bidding will commence shortly. According to company sources, GMR is currently busy with due diligence activities and intends to proceed with the bidding process if it finds the project to be viable.

Sources suggested the company will likely take a call soon in this regard.

St Petersburg located Pulkovo would feature an airport complex of two terminals (Pulkovo-1 and Pulkovo-2), a hotel, a health centre and an aircraft safety complex.

The GMR Group and Reliance Airport Developers are also in the race for the purchase of state-owned Letiste Praha AS, or the Prague International Airport in Czechoslovakia.

GMR Group officials said they expect more European airports to be privatised over the coming years.