GMR Infra arm bags project for Male International Airport

BANGALORE: GMR Male International Airport (GMIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, on Thursday said it has bagged a project to modernise, expand and operate Republic of Maldives's capital Male's International Airport.

Earlier on June 24, the consortium led by GMR Infrastructure Ltd (GIL) with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), had won concession for the Male Airport for 25 years.

GMIAL is the special purpose vehicle formed in Maldives pursuant to the concession, in which the stake of GIL and MAHB is 77 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.

The total cost of the modernisation and expansion project, estimated at $511 million, is being funded through a combination of debt and equity in the ratio of 70:30.

The debt component of $358 million has been tied up with Axis Bank's Singapore branch, which is acting as the sole underwriter and mandated lead arranger for the entire debt facility.

The debt has a door-to-door tenure of 12 years, with ballooning repayment over seven years, commencing from June 2015. Axis Bank is also acting as the security trustee and facility agent, whereas State Bank of India's Maldives branch is acting as account bank for the debt facility.

With Male, the GMR Group has four operational airports. The others being Delhi, Hyderabad and Istanbul.