PTI

Mumbai, Sep 17: Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), joint venture of GVK Industries and Airports Authority of India (AAI) has proposed to invest Rs 6,000 crore to modernisation, MIAL's Chairman G V Krishna Reddy said Sunday.

MIAL, in which GVK SA consortium holds 74 per cent and AAI holds 26 per cent stake, was awarded the mandate of modernising and upgrading Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in April, 2006.

"In the next five years, MIAL plans to transform CSIA into an international landmark benchmarked on global standards of airport operations. MIAL has already engaged international experts in airport design and operations," Reddy said at the inauguration of a new terminal at CSIA.

The new terminal 1B has resulted in expansion of capacity to meet the growing domestic traffic. The airlines namely Air Deccan, Indigo, Jet Airways, Jet Lite, Spicejet and Go Air would operate from the new terminal.

"With the opening of the arrival terminal at CSIA, 65 per cent of the domestic arrivals will shift from terminal 1A to 1B. Terminal 1B has become the best airport terminal in India today and this is just a small step in our journey to transform CSIA," Reddy said.

CSIA is India's busiest airport, having catered to 22.2 million passengers and 4,80,000 tonnes of cargo in FY-07, Reddy said.

GVK is among India's largest infrastructure developers. It has invested over Rs 5,000 crore in its various businesses and has on-hand projects in the pipeline of over Rs 12,000 crore.