GMR airports joint venture starts operating Indonesia's Medan airport

GMR Group on Friday said its joint venture Angkasa Pura Aviasi has started operating the Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, Indonesia.

Angkasa Pura Aviasi (APA) is a joint venture between GMR Airports Ltd and Indonesia's state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II.

With the project, GMR Airports, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, has entered the growing Indonesian aviation market and the project will cover a cooperation period of 25 years, according to a release.

The joint venture formally took over the operations of Medan airport in the presence of Budi Karya Sumadi, Minister of Transportation; Erick Thohir, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises; Edy Rachmayadi, Governor of North Sumatra, and Muhammad Awaluddin - President Director, Angkasa Pura II, the release said.

Currently, GMR Group is operating Delhi, Hyderabad airports as well as the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in the Philippines.

It also recently finished the construction of Clark Airport in the Philippines and is also coming up with a new airport at Crete in Greece.

GMR Airports had bid for the development and operation of Medan airport and the international selection process was conducted by PT Angkasa Pura II to select a strategic partner.

In November 2021, GMR Airports was announced as the winning bidder. The Shareholders' Agreement (SHA) and Share Subscription Agreement (SSA) with PT Angkasa Pura II was signed in December 2021.

For the project, GMR had entered into a 49:51 partnership with PT Angkasa Pura II.

"We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our commitment to transforming Medan airport into the western international hub of Indonesia and contributing to the overall infrastructure development of the country," Srinivas Bommidala, Chairman of Energy & International Airports at GMR Group, said.

"Our participation in the project is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Look East' policy and President Jokowi's commitment to developing infrastructure in Indonesia," he added.