BAPL ties up with Changi for Durgapur airport

Bengal Aerotropolis Projects (BAPL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which is developing India's first airport city, or aerotropolis, in the Asansol-Durgapur region, today entered into a technical services arrangement with Singapore-based Changi Airports International (CAI).

The agreement was signed in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.

Under the agreement, CAI would review the master plan of the proposed greenfield airport and also supervise the execution of the project, Eugene Gan, senior vice-president (worldwide operations), CAI, said.

CAI will first carry out a detailed review of the proposed airport including a review of the airport capacity, land use plan, passenger terminal layout and air and land side development of the airport.

Apart from this, CAI will also conduct training for senior management of BAPL at the Singapore Aviation Academy. The training programmes are targeted at introducing senior managers at BAPL to the technical aspects of developing and managing an airport terminal.

Commenting on the project, Patel said, "We are very supportive of BAPL's plan to develop the first airport city in the country. BACL should look at building more such projects and also look at developing small airports." Partho Ghosh, director, BAPL, indicated that there is a possibility of CAI picking up a stake in the aerotropolis project.

The Durgapur Aerotropolis, which is to be developed on an area of 2,300 acres, involves an investment of Rs 10,000 crore, of which Rs 500 crore will be the cost of building the airport alone. The airport will be developed in phases and Rs 150 crore will be invested in the first phase.

The airport would be commissioned 30 months after taking possession of land from the West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC), Ghosh added.

BAPL has already entered into a JV with WBIDC for the project and WBIDC, which has 10 per cent stake in the project, will acquire the land and hand it over to BAPL.

The project includes an IT park, an industrial park, hospitals, markets, theme parks, schools, community centres and housing facilities for high, middle and low income groups.