HYDERABAD: On the heels of a parliamentary committee asking government to renegotiate with private parties developing greenfield airports and prevent closure of existing ones, GMR Group on Wednesday said it would not be economically viable to run two airports simultaneously.

“We do have challenges. There is a commitment from the government that they will provide us with all assistance. It (having two airports) is not in economic interest as the operational cost will go up,” GMR Group Chairman (Airports) Kiran Kumar Grandhi told reporters here.

Days ahead of opening of new airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad, a parliamentary committee today asked the government to renegotiate agreements with private parties developing greenfield airports in the two metros to ensure that the existing airports are not closed down.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd’s (GHIAL) newly- built Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here, which has been developed in about 5,500 acres in Shamshabad near the city at an investment of Rs 2,478 crore, is scheduled to commence commercial operations from March 16.

The existing Begumpet Airport was supposed to be closed down under a pre-development agreement between GHIAL and the government.

Presently different unions and political parties have been protesting against the proposed closure.

Asked what would be the company’s response if government allowed both the airports to run simultaneously or extending the dates of the closure, Grandhi declined to comment.

Of 3,000 employees in the Begumpet Airport, about 80 per cent have been shifted and absorbed in the new one, he said, adding that “there is absolutely no job loss. We have offered jobs to all from there (Begumpet Airport). We need about 8,000 employees here”.

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