New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS): GMR Infra's subsidiary GMR Airports has emerged as the winning bidder for the development and operation of Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, Indonesia.

Notably, GMR Airports and its wholly owned subsidiary, GMR Airports International B.V had bid for the project as a consortium.

At present, Medan is the fourth largest urban area in the country and is capital of North Sumatra province.

"GMR will enter into 49:51 partnership with AP2 for this project. The consortium will transform Kualanamu International Airport into Western International hub of Indonesia," the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The airport had handled more than 10 million passengers in 2018.

"The project scope includes operation, development and expansion of the airport over a period of 25 years. Kualanamu International Airport is an operating Airport with healthy cash flows."

According to the company, the letter of award is expected to be issued in next few days, post bid formalities, while signing of project agreements before the end of this year.

Currently, GMR is the largest private airport operator in Asia and fourth largest globally, handling passengers in excess of 172 million annually (pre-Covid).

It operates the Delhi and Hyderabad airports. The company also operates the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu, Philippines, in partnership with Megawide.

The group is currently developing three major greenfield airport projects across India and Greece.