Real estate investors keep fingers crossed

Though government has told BAPL to focus on the airport, the company has already sold over 1,000 residential plots and assigned 91 acres commercial/ industrial development

Satyajit Bose, a cardiac surgeon and chairman of The Mission Hospital in Durgapur, paid Rs 1.2 crore to set up a multi-speciality hospital on two acres of land in the upcoming airport city promoted by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects (BAPL). Bose now believes he will be able to start work on his new hospital in the next four months, as the airport appears to have crossed its last hurdle after missing almost half a dozen deadlines.

"I am in constant touch with Bengal Aerotropolis Projects. We all know how the project has faced hurdles. But it seems it will be operational soon. My hospital will cater to the airport city. Unless the airport is operational, I cannot start construction," says Bose.

His optimism is based on the fact that high-tension power lines obstructing the airport are finally being removed. A transmission cable underneath the runway has been completed and the towers are being dismantled.

"It was frustrating that power lines held up the project for so long. We needed a small piece of land, but there were so many locals involved that it was extremely difficult to get everyone on board. Finally, the stringing is complete," said Kallol Seal, vice-president of BAPL in charge of supervising this work. Another leftover job, the approach road connecting the airport to National Highway 2, is almost done. A remaining 900-metre stretch, officials say, will take another one week.

"The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will make a final inspection in a couple of weeks. This will be followed by a test flight," Seal added.

BAPL, in which Changi Airports International owns a 32.2 per cent stake, has set March 2015 as its latest deadline. Final touches are being given at the check-in lounge and the Airports Authority of India is setting up its equipment.

But the key to meeting the deadline will be airlines. Budget carrier GoAir is the only airline to have an agreement with BAPL, for daily Durgapur-Delhi flights. Pinnacle Air has announced its proposed launch of non-scheduled airline operations connecting Durgapur, Bagdogra and Cooch Behar with Kolkata.

"We are in talks with other airlines. We are ready to start commercial operations with GoAir and Pinnacle Air," said Sunil Chander Nair, chief marketing officer of BAPL. The company needs the airport up and running soon to keep the trust of investors. The first phase of work, which includes the airport and allied infrastructure is almost complete. After the airport, BAPL plans to develop an airport city with an information technology park, hospitals and a residential complex. Land leased to BAPL for 99 years is being assigned to investors.

Arpit Dhandhania, a Kolkata-based businessman, bought four residential plots in 2013, over a third of an acre. He received possession of the plots in December 2013 but has not been able to complete registration and start building. "There is no clarity from Bengal Aerotropolis Projects' side. Unless the airport comes up, things will not move," he said.

While BAPL didn't share details of its finances, assigning plots has been the real source of cash flow.

Nair claims registrations of plots sold by BAPL are being done in chronological order. "We want investors to start construction. But the focus is to get the airport up first," he said.