Dear Editor,
The article Delhi’s success story in the September issue of India Business Law Journal was immensely thought provoking and educative. Let me place on record my sincere compliments to the author Mr Tripathy and your editorial team. The article truly epitomizes how a business law journal should present facts.
Having played a significant role in evolving public-private partnerships (PPP) in federal ports of India, I can truly appreciate the challenges involved in the airport sector where the public interface and interest are significantly higher. Building a contemporary international airport is a demanding proposition. The capital and maintenance costs are huge and the operator must also share a significant share of revenue with the government. The challenge for the BOT operator then is how to build a world class airport within tight timelines, generate viable returns for shareholders and ensure passenger charges are affordable while also keeping the erstwhile public sector staff happy and productive. The article has explained lucidly how these seemingly contradictory objectives were reconciled by the BOT operator and how innovative means of non-aeronautical revenue generation through ground handling, retail and the redevelopment of land were conceived. In addition, the article outlines how legal tangles and delays, including the resettlement of project affected persons, which are typical in an ultra democratic nation like India, were resolved.
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The familiarity of the author with the intimate nuances of the landmark deal is apparent by the way in which he has examined the multi-layered vetting of the PPP and the project contracts by the government and the private sector with the assistance of several legal firms. While the author takes legitimate pride in the success of the project, he also cautions, albeit rightly on the challenges ahead in terms of the future direction of tariff regulation with the advent of the new regulator and the recent attempts to treat private sector concessionaires as an extension of the state.
I hope the magazine publishes similar articles on PPP experiences on a regular basis.
A Balasubramanian
Senior Director – Project Finance
Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC)
Chennai
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