 "Taxiing for takeoff")
Last month, Bengal Aerotropolis Projects got a big boost when Changi Airport of Singapore upped its stake in it from 26 per cent to 32.2 per cent. The company is constructing an airport city at Andal near Durgapur in the Barddhaman district of West Bengal. This happened within two months of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit to Singapore to attract investments to the state. Changi was issued fresh shares, for which it paid around Rs 50 crore. The capital infusion has led many to believe that West Bengal's showpiece project, which was meant to portray its business-friendly face to the world after industry deserted it over the last three decades, will finally take off after going through several obstacles.
It was a report by RK Swamy BBDO that prompted Partha Ghosh, a real estate developer, to think of an airport near Durgapur. The report had highlighted that Durgapur was the only city among the country's top 27 cities not to have an airport, even when the 50-km Durgapur-Asansol industrial zone was India's 14th most prominent urban agglomeration. On paper, the project looked easy enough to implement: there was an existing, though abandoned airstrip that could be upgraded to a proper runway. In reality, however, it proved to be a minefield. Coal India objected to the project, citing coal reserves in the vicinity. Then there were issues over land acquisition. And, to make matters worse, a power struggle broke out between the promoters. There were inordinate delays that led many to speculate if Andal was headed the Singur way (Tata Motors relocated its factory to manufacture the Nano from there to Gujarat after unrest among the farmers who had sold their land to the company).
After she came to power in 2011, Banerjee announced, almost out of the blue, another airport about 40 km away at Asansol in the same district, putting the viability and technical feasibility of the Andal project under a cloud. Fortunately for Bengal Aerotropolis Projects, the state government did not pursue the plan. But then, the developers had to realign the project by 144 acres. They had got about 1,818 acres during the Left Front regime, but the new government created stumbling blocks one after another for acquiring the remaining land. The issue is still alive: Sushil Ghosh of Anadal Block Krishijomi Rakha Committee claims that around 630 people who own 109 acres of land have refused to collect their cheques unless given a higher compensation. The Bharatiya Janata Party, a rising political force in West Bengal, has latched on to the landowners' resistance to make political capital. "The airport is fine. But in the name of the airport-city, the project developers are selling the acquired land for crores per bigha when the landowners had been paid just a few lakhs," says Naresh Konar, a BJP state committee member who is leading the aggrieved landowners. Banerjee, on a visit to the site on Thursday, refused to meet these landowners, and alleged that "some outsiders were creating trouble".
There is good reason why Banerjee is keen on a quick completion of the Durgapur project. With several big projects stuck, like the one proposed by JSW Steel at Salboni, the airport could change the chief minister's anti-industry image. That's why she always mentions the project in her speeches these days. The first phase of the project, which includes the airport and related infrastructure, had been almost completed by September last year, when Banerjee, with almost half of her cabinet, inaugurated it and renamed it the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport. Her very public support has helped Bengal Aerotropolis Projects overcome some hurdles. The last of the problems - opposition to the transfer of high-tension power transmission lines on the road to the airport by those on whose lands the towers were to be shifted - too has been sorted out with the administration stepping in.
Banerjee on Thursday said the airport would be functional in a month's time. According to Patha Ghosh, teams from the Airports Authority of India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will inspect the airport in December. By early January next year, test flights are likely to take off. He expects it to be commercially operational by March.
Will there be takers for it? Some companies that have business units in the neighbourhood think there will be plenty of them. "People from Delhi and Mumbai who want to visit our plant in Durgapur have to come via Kolkata. An airport in Durgapur will certainly be a better option," says an executive of state-owned Steel Authority of India. The Asansol-Durgapur belt is home to units for iron & steel, aluminium, locomotives, cables and specialised optical lenses as well as for coal mining and power generation. These industries employ a large number of people, of which 15 per cent are in the management cadre, says an internal assessment report of Bengal Aerotropolis Projects. "There are 17 engineering colleges, two deemed universities, 18 polytechnics and management institutes within the project's extended catchment that produce approximately 9,000 English-speaking graduates and post-graduates per annum," it adds. "Dhanbad is the coal capital of India. Asansol-Raniganj is one of India's largest commodity trade centres. The region contributes 500,000 passengers a year to the Kolkata and Ranchi airports, both located 200 km away," says Partha Ghosh, pointing out that Asansol and Dhanbad are projected to be among the world's top 100 fastest-growing cities from 2006 to 2020.
Will all this convince the airlines to land at Durgapur? "We are in discussion with all domestic carriers since the beginning of the project. The response is positive and the discussions are at a final stage," says Partha Ghosh. Changi, which has been at the forefront of the route planning, has, after several discussions with carriers, zeroed in on Delhi-Durgapur-Delhi as the initial route. This will be followed by services to other destinations like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. "We are internally accessing the Durgapur airport," says an executive of a leading domestic airline. "But it is not only about the potential. When a new facility comes up, several concessional agreements are offered by developers. Bengal Aerotropolis Projects too would have something to offer. Any decision on operating out of Durgapur will be taken after taking considering all such factors."
In order to facilitate such concessions, Bengal Aerotropolis Projects had asked West Bengal for concessionary sales tax of 4 per cent for jet fuel, akin to the one given by the Maharashtra government for non-metro airports, but the state has walked the extra mile and announced 100 per cent sales tax exemption for refuelling at Durgapur as well as at Bagdogra in Siliguri. "This is a big boost," concedes Partha Ghosh. "Other concessional agreements will also be offered. Also, Changi will operate the airport for an initial period of 15 years. This will guarantee best global practices to the airlines as well as the commuters." By convention, airline contracts are finalised around three months before the start of operations. Bengal Aerotropolis Projects needs to moves fast if it wants to start in March.
It was a report by RK Swamy BBDO that prompted Partha Ghosh, a real estate developer, to think of an airport near Durgapur. The report had highlighted that Durgapur was the only city among the country's top 27 cities not to have an airport, even when the 50-km Durgapur-Asansol industrial zone was India's 14th most prominent urban agglomeration. On paper, the project looked easy enough to implement: there was an existing, though abandoned airstrip that could be upgraded to a proper runway. In reality, however, it proved to be a minefield. Coal India objected to the project, citing coal reserves in the vicinity. Then there were issues over land acquisition. And, to make matters worse, a power struggle broke out between the promoters. There were inordinate delays that led many to speculate if Andal was headed the Singur way (Tata Motors relocated its factory to manufacture the Nano from there to Gujarat after unrest among the farmers who had sold their land to the company).
After she came to power in 2011, Banerjee announced, almost out of the blue, another airport about 40 km away at Asansol in the same district, putting the viability and technical feasibility of the Andal project under a cloud. Fortunately for Bengal Aerotropolis Projects, the state government did not pursue the plan. But then, the developers had to realign the project by 144 acres. They had got about 1,818 acres during the Left Front regime, but the new government created stumbling blocks one after another for acquiring the remaining land. The issue is still alive: Sushil Ghosh of Anadal Block Krishijomi Rakha Committee claims that around 630 people who own 109 acres of land have refused to collect their cheques unless given a higher compensation. The Bharatiya Janata Party, a rising political force in West Bengal, has latched on to the landowners' resistance to make political capital. "The airport is fine. But in the name of the airport-city, the project developers are selling the acquired land for crores per bigha when the landowners had been paid just a few lakhs," says Naresh Konar, a BJP state committee member who is leading the aggrieved landowners. Banerjee, on a visit to the site on Thursday, refused to meet these landowners, and alleged that "some outsiders were creating trouble".
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Partha Ghosh, who is the managing director of Bengal Aerotropolis Projects, is hopeful of the issue being sorted out soon and says that the company is now focusing on the airport, as advised by the Banerjee government. The disputed land is outside the 650 acres where the airport has been built - it is actually a part of the proposed city. "First, let the airport come up. The issue of the (disputed) land outside the airport area can be settled later," says Malay Ghatak, the local MLA and minister of labour in the West Bengal government.
There is good reason why Banerjee is keen on a quick completion of the Durgapur project. With several big projects stuck, like the one proposed by JSW Steel at Salboni, the airport could change the chief minister's anti-industry image. That's why she always mentions the project in her speeches these days. The first phase of the project, which includes the airport and related infrastructure, had been almost completed by September last year, when Banerjee, with almost half of her cabinet, inaugurated it and renamed it the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport. Her very public support has helped Bengal Aerotropolis Projects overcome some hurdles. The last of the problems - opposition to the transfer of high-tension power transmission lines on the road to the airport by those on whose lands the towers were to be shifted - too has been sorted out with the administration stepping in.
Banerjee on Thursday said the airport would be functional in a month's time. According to Patha Ghosh, teams from the Airports Authority of India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will inspect the airport in December. By early January next year, test flights are likely to take off. He expects it to be commercially operational by March.
Will there be takers for it? Some companies that have business units in the neighbourhood think there will be plenty of them. "People from Delhi and Mumbai who want to visit our plant in Durgapur have to come via Kolkata. An airport in Durgapur will certainly be a better option," says an executive of state-owned Steel Authority of India. The Asansol-Durgapur belt is home to units for iron & steel, aluminium, locomotives, cables and specialised optical lenses as well as for coal mining and power generation. These industries employ a large number of people, of which 15 per cent are in the management cadre, says an internal assessment report of Bengal Aerotropolis Projects. "There are 17 engineering colleges, two deemed universities, 18 polytechnics and management institutes within the project's extended catchment that produce approximately 9,000 English-speaking graduates and post-graduates per annum," it adds. "Dhanbad is the coal capital of India. Asansol-Raniganj is one of India's largest commodity trade centres. The region contributes 500,000 passengers a year to the Kolkata and Ranchi airports, both located 200 km away," says Partha Ghosh, pointing out that Asansol and Dhanbad are projected to be among the world's top 100 fastest-growing cities from 2006 to 2020.
Will all this convince the airlines to land at Durgapur? "We are in discussion with all domestic carriers since the beginning of the project. The response is positive and the discussions are at a final stage," says Partha Ghosh. Changi, which has been at the forefront of the route planning, has, after several discussions with carriers, zeroed in on Delhi-Durgapur-Delhi as the initial route. This will be followed by services to other destinations like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. "We are internally accessing the Durgapur airport," says an executive of a leading domestic airline. "But it is not only about the potential. When a new facility comes up, several concessional agreements are offered by developers. Bengal Aerotropolis Projects too would have something to offer. Any decision on operating out of Durgapur will be taken after taking considering all such factors."
In order to facilitate such concessions, Bengal Aerotropolis Projects had asked West Bengal for concessionary sales tax of 4 per cent for jet fuel, akin to the one given by the Maharashtra government for non-metro airports, but the state has walked the extra mile and announced 100 per cent sales tax exemption for refuelling at Durgapur as well as at Bagdogra in Siliguri. "This is a big boost," concedes Partha Ghosh. "Other concessional agreements will also be offered. Also, Changi will operate the airport for an initial period of 15 years. This will guarantee best global practices to the airlines as well as the commuters." By convention, airline contracts are finalised around three months before the start of operations. Bengal Aerotropolis Projects needs to moves fast if it wants to start in March.