Bids for management of Malé International Airport received

Many well-known companies in the airport management business have shown interest in investing in and managing Malé International Airport according to Invest Maldives, reports Miadhu.

The main interested company is GMR of India, who has also made a bid to develop Hanimaadhoo International Airport.

Some of the other interested parties include Turkish company TAV Airports Holding Company, Aéroports de Paris Management Company of France, and two joint bids by Mexican government-owned Aeropuertos Y Servicios Auxiliares in partnership with Reliance Infrastructure of India, and Indian company GVK Airport Developers Ltd in partnership with Swiss Flughafen Zurich AG.

The winning bid will be chosen by a special evaluation committee. Experts have said the company who wins the bid will have to spend millions of dollars to redevelop, upgrade and manage the airport.

Malé International Airport is being offered for investment as part of the government’s decentralisation plan, but critics have said the airport is one of the few government owned ventures that makes a profit.