GMR Male International Airport (GMIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, on Thursday said it has bagged a project to modernise, expand and operate Male's International Airport. Male is the capital of Republic of Maldives.
Earlier on June 24, the consortium led by GMR Infrastructure 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 GMR Infra and Malaysia Airports Holdings hold 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, 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 will have four operational airports - the others being Delhi, Hyderabad and Istanbul.
Special 
