The companies were selected after a tendering process. Fifteen proposals were received from six bidders for four licence packages in response to the tender floated by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the GMR-led consortium renovating the Capital’s airport.

In a statement, DIAL Chief Commercial Officer Gavin Mckechnie said: “It is a pleasant surprise for us to see such strong interest from both international and local players in such an uncertain period. This shows we may have hit the right note to attract the best industry players to help us create a world-class airport dining experience at Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal 3.”

The bidders included a consortium led by Travel Food Services (Delhi) Private Limited, Devyani International Limited (DIL), SSP Catering India Private Limited, HMS Host Inc, a consortium led by Nirulas Corner House and Lite Bite Foods Private Limited.

The four successful bidders — SSP Catering India Private Ltd, Devyani International Ltd and Travel Food Services (Delhi) Private Ltd (which has won two packages) — will set up outlets in various parts of the terminal, DIAL said in a statement. The airport operator will pick up a 40 per cent stake in the joint venture companies to be formed with each of the successful bidders.

T3 is scheduled to be operational before the Commonwealth Games next year and construction is currently under way.

The new terminal will be among the largest passenger terminals in the world, covering an area of more than 5 million sq ft. The integrated terminal will handle both domestic and international departures as well as arrivals. T3 is part of Phase 1 of the IGI Airport’s Master Plan development, and has a total project outlay exceeding US$ 2 billion and is expected to increase the airport’s capacity to handle more than 60 million passengers a year.