Better Bengaluru airport years away

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Those looking for a more efficient Bengaluru airport may have to wait a few more years for the next phase of expansion to be complete.
The Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (Bial) is a consortium of Siemens, GVK Group, Unique Zurich Airport, Karnataka State Industrial Investment & Development Corporation and Airports Authority of India. Phase-II of the airport was to be commissioned in early 2009, but was postponed as the global aviation business nose-dived.
Phase-II, the construction of which is expected to begin by the second half of 2010, includes a second terminal and a second runway. Its cost was estimated at Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion) last year, around Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) more than that of Phase-I. According to industry analysts, once work begins, the second phase will take three years to conclude.
While Bial maintains it will review the report of the Karnataka Assembly's House Panel and implement its recommendations to the extent possible, Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel is more candid: "I accept that the design is a bit faulty. It was worse earlier. So, I got the design modified in 2004 and incorporated Phase-I in the airport construction when I joined as minister. Even after those changes, it is not as good as Hyderabad and other international airports."
He said the airport would be on a par with other airports after Phase-II of the work at the airport was completed.
A Bial spokesperson said the company had "always been forthcoming and transparent in its interactions and information sharing with the committee."
Others entities, which were slammed by the House Panel, refused to comment.
23/12/09 Business Standard/Rediff

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Categories: Airports Dec 2009