GVK revives Bangalore airport expansion plans

Bangalore: Bangalore International Airport Ltd, or Bial, in which GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd is the second largest shareholder, has revived its expansion plans and will add a second terminal to handle up to 36 million passengers a year.
The terminal will be completed in four years, G.V.K. Reddy, chairman of GVK Power, said on Tuesday while announcing the expansion.
The facility, which opened in May 2008 with a capacity to handle 12 million passengers a year, is India’s third busiest airport. It froze its expansion plan soon after opening, citing the economic downturn.
But GVK, which bought a 29% stake in Bial late in 2009 valuing the airport at at least $1 billion (Rs4,560 crore), is adding capacity because it sees higher passenger growth as the economy revives.
Bial isn’t the only airport looking to take advantage of the projected revival.
On Monday, the Karnataka government signed a pact with Chennai-based infrastructure firm MARG Ltd to build a new airport in Bijapur, a tourist town in the northern part of the state. Karnataka has also invited bids for new airports in Hassan, Bellary and Shimoga.
The first terminal will be expanded and more facilities added ahead of the second one being built, Reddy said.
GVK Power has hired US architecture and engineering firm HOK, which is building the Delhi airport’s Terminal 3, for expanding Bangalore’s first terminal to handle 15 million passengers.
The second terminal will be tendered out for global bidding, Reddy said, without specifying financial details.
20/01/10 K. Raghu/Live Mint

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Categories: Airports Jan 2010