Govt to draw Hassan airport blueprint afresh

Bangalore: About four-and-a-half years after approving the project, the State government has found the proposed greenfield airport in Hassan financially not viable. As a result, it has decided to revise the project plan.
In the recent letter to the Infrastructure Development Department (IDD), the Finance Department has stated the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is “unreliable” and “inconsistent” and recommended that the project be planned afresh.
One of the reasons cited by the FD, official sources said, is the low rate of returns.
The acceptable Internal Rate of Returns (IRR) for such a project is 12 to 14 per cent. The DPR has, however, quoted 10.75 per cent IRR. “So the project is not viable. It is strongly recommended that the project may be planned afresh as per the Government of India guidelines so that it is eligible under Viability Gap Funding (VGF),” the FD has stated in reply to a proposal seeking VGF cover to the project.
The Public Private Partnership (PPP) project has been awarded to Jupiter Aviation and Logistics Ltd. The promoter would invest about Rs 1,200 crore on the project, while the government would provide 960 acres of land and utility services like power and water.
The project was planned in three components: Passenger, cargo and aviation related activities. Besides airport, it was planned to set up an aviation training academy and aircraft maintenance and overhauling facility as a back up to the Bangalore international airport.
22/02/12 P M Raghunandan/Deccan Herald

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: airports Feb 2012, New Feb 2012