GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday clarified that the name of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport won't be changed.
Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said, "The name of LGBI Airport will not be changed till I serve as the chief minister and till Narendra Modi served as the Prime Minister."
The chief minister further stated that he won't let that happen and the Borjhar airport will always be known as LGBI airport.
Meanwhile, newspaper advertisement is doing rounds in social media where it has been mentioned that Adani Guwahati International Airport invites "parties to participate in the e-tendering process for provisions of various non-aeronautical services at the airport".
Earlier, Utpal Baruah, a veteran in the aviation industry hailing from Assam, will head the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) airport at Borjhar here when the Northeast's biggest airport will be fully privatized by October this year.
A nine-member team of the Adani Group led has already started the 'Observation Period' at the airport. In 2018, the Centre included the LGBI Airport in Guwahati in the group of six airports (Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangalore, Jaipur, and Trivandrum) for privatization on the Operations, Management and Development (OMD) model for a period of 50 years. The Adani Group had emerged as the successful bidder for all the six airports.
Baruah has been appointed the Chief Airport Officer of LGBI Airport by the Adani group. He has vast experience of working with the AAI (Airports Authority of India) and multiple private airports in the country. Before joining the Adani group, Baruah was working at Kerala's Kannur International Airport as the Chief Operating Officer. He also worked at the Goa international airport, New Delhi's IGI Airport, Hyderabad's RGI Airport, and Cebu airport in the Philippines.
During the 'Observation Period,' employees of the Adani Group will start working with the staff of the AAI to get themselves acclimatized with the task at LGBI airport before the management is handed over to the private operator. Only security and air traffic communication at LGBI airport will be looked after by AAI from October.
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