PTI
 
New Delhi, May 3: The much-awaited restructuring of Delhi and Mumbai airports would be effected at midnight when their managements are formally handed over to the two joint venture companies led by GMR and GVK Groups.

The unions sternly warned the government against the move, but were tight-lipped about their action plan.

The JV companies, in which Airports Authority of India (AAI) holds 26 per cent stake, have promised to start bringing changes in the airport environments as soon as they are handed over to them within a week or 30 days.

"In the first few days, steps will be taken to reduce the queue time, make available trolleys and provide clean drinking water, toilets and proper seating area. These steps will be taken as they do not involve any construction activity," Jatin Aneja, a partner in Amarchand, Mangaldass and Shroff who oversaw the entire privatisation process, told PTI in New Delhi.

Describing the restructuring process as one of the biggest in the world at this moment, he said in 20 years, the revenue generation from one airport would touch about 1.2 billion dollars, of which AAI would get a major share.

The formal handing over of the two major metro airports comes after the government signed two sets of agreements with the GMR and GVK Groups on April 4 to set up joint venture companies to modernise Delhi and Mumbai airports. These were the shareholders' agreement and the mother accord called the OMDA (Operations, Maintenance and Development Agreement).

Meanwhile AAI Employees Joint Forum leader M K Ghoshal on Tuesday night met Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and warned that the staff had resolved "not to join any private party but continue working under the AAI", complaining that the unions had not been taken into confidence at all.