Airport privatisation process began in 2004 during the UPA rule when the former Prime Minister of India Shri. Manmohan Singh of the Indian Congress Party came to power. In 2006, the existing assets of Mumbai and Delhi Airports were given to GMR Group and GVK group respectively to redevelop. New greenfield airports would come up eventually at Bangalore and Hyderabad. Over time, many airports in India have be handed over for privatisation. Yet, Chennai and Kolkata Airports continue to remain with AAI. While a new Greenfield Airport is being proposed 80kms away from Chennai, it is going to be another 5 years until the project is realised.
AAI has been expanding and redeveloping the existing infrastructure at Chennai Airport. A new multilevel car park area along with retail, F&B and entertainment is coming up. As part of this project, PVR Cinemas has opened a 5-screen multiplex.
The Aerohub Chennai, will have 1155 seats across 5 screens and is expected to cater to the suburban areas around the Airports which lacks a world class cinema experience. The multiplex will have cutting edge technologies including 2K RGB+ laser projectors, Real D 3D digital stereoscopic projection, Dolby Atmos high definition immersive auditoriums and a fantastic F&B area to satiate the needs of the audience. It is interesting to note that exactly opposite to this complex is another PVR cinema Multiplex. One needs to wait and watch whether these assets would make sense for the already ailing Exhibition industry. PVR reported its Q3 Financials recently.
The next such Airport Cinema is expected to come up at Pune Airport this summer.
