Work on Bangalore aerotropolis to start in 2010

Chickaballapur: Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) will begin work on the proposed airport city (aerotropolis) in the first half of 2010.
BIAL is holding talks with developers of the project, sources in BIAL, which operates Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli, told The Hindu here on Friday.
BIAL’s decision to develop an airport city is in line with the increasing attention being paid to aerotropolises the world over.
An aerotropolis is a city in which the layout, infrastructure and economy are centred on the airport.
According to sources, the airport city project has provisions for premium land for commercial real-estate development such as office parks, retail, entertainment and hospitality, in addition to the land reserved for a rail link to the city.
BIAL envisions the airport city to be a “flourishing destination in itself; people would not only come here to board flights but also to relax, do business and shop,” sources said.
On the other hand, the airport city project is also an important revenue-generating venture for BIAL, which had suffered a loss of Rs. 22 crore a month when it completed six months of commercial operations in November 2008.
The then Chief Executive Officer of BIAL, Albert Brunner, had hinted at the company’s plans to enter into the real-estate business to augment its revenue in the long run.
Though sources were tight-lipped on BIAL’s latest financial situation, they said, “We have just completed a year of operations and still stabilising.
06/06/09 K.V. Subramanya/The Hindu

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Categories: Airports Jun 2009, New Jun 2009