THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 9 June 2007 — The Cochin International Airport Limited, which runs India’s first corporate airport, is seeking a foreign investor to take a stake worth at least Rs25bn ($616m) in what would be a rare chance to take part in the country’s fast-growing aviation industry.
India’s fourth largest international airport, which was set up with contributions from some 10,000 NRIs a decade ago, is considering the sale of about 25 percent of the company to an outside investor, according to reports.
“We’d prefer a tie-up with someone who’s got experience in aviation and who can help us expand in the aviation sector,” London’s Financial Times quoted S. Bharath, the airport’s managing director, as saying.
The Cochin facility was one of the first Indian airports to be built largely with private-sector funds. The government of Kerala, which initially held 51 percent stake in the company, currently owns 36 percent but has agreed to dilute its stake further to 26 percent.
