Bangalore: The construction of greenfield airports in Bijapur, Bellary, Gulbarga and Shimoga — undertaken by the State government on public private partnership (PPP) — has run into problems.
While the promoter of Bijapur and Bellary airports — MARG, a Chennai-based firm — has decided to walk out of the project, the construction of Gulbarga and Shimoga airports has stopped because of bickerings among the promoters, official sources said.
MARG, Deccan Herald has learnt, recently told the government that it wants to pull out of the project, saying it’s “not viable”. The promoter claimed that the project site (about 11 km from Bijapur town) was “undulated” and unsuitable for airport development. It requires a lot of cutting and blasting works that may incur huge costs. The firm had taken the physical possession of 727 acres identified for the project and set up a site office. The project is estimated to cost Rs 200 crore.
MARG signed the Project Development Agreement (PDA) with the government for the airport’s construction in January 2010. It was to begin construction after signing the land lease agreement. It, however, failed to do so despite numerous reminders from the IDD, officials added.
18/06/13 P M Raghunandan/Deccan Herald
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While the promoter of Bijapur and Bellary airports — MARG, a Chennai-based firm — has decided to walk out of the project, the construction of Gulbarga and Shimoga airports has stopped because of bickerings among the promoters, official sources said.
MARG, Deccan Herald has learnt, recently told the government that it wants to pull out of the project, saying it’s “not viable”. The promoter claimed that the project site (about 11 km from Bijapur town) was “undulated” and unsuitable for airport development. It requires a lot of cutting and blasting works that may incur huge costs. The firm had taken the physical possession of 727 acres identified for the project and set up a site office. The project is estimated to cost Rs 200 crore.
MARG signed the Project Development Agreement (PDA) with the government for the airport’s construction in January 2010. It was to begin construction after signing the land lease agreement. It, however, failed to do so despite numerous reminders from the IDD, officials added.
18/06/13 P M Raghunandan/Deccan Herald
