B'lore Intl Airport on track

To meet its April 2008 deadline.

Nearly two years since the commencement of construction work at the airport site in Devanahalli, the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) on Thursday announced that 77 per cent of the project is now complete.

BIAL CEO Albert Brunner told reporters here that BIAL will meet its launch deadline of April 2008, and commence the trail runs by January 2008.

"The roof, front and back glass façade, and the side walls of the terminal building are complete," he said. Work on the car park area in front of the terminal is in progress while the base pavement layer was nearing completion. The 4-km runway paving is also complete, he added.

BIAL is spending an additional Rs 117 crore to build a two-lane trumpet flyover at the intersection of the main access road and NH7. "As the land is presently under litigation we did not receive assistance from the government to construct the flyover so we went ahead and built it ourselves," Brunner said. This will add to the present project cost of Rs 1,930 crore.

BIAL is also in the process of finalising contracts with bus companies to launch an Express bus services to ferry passengers to and from the airport.

On the issue of the recent changes proposed by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to the airport's design, Brunner said he had had detailed discussions with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and laid his fears to rest.

"They also did not like our stringent architectural language but we have made the necessary changes," he added. A canopy to protect the South-facing terminal from rains, will be built in the coming months.

BIAL might also consider expansion, including building a second runway by 2013. The airport, which is expected to handle around 10 million passengers at launch, may be able to triple that figure in 20 years time.

The company has also submitted its Safety Management System Manual for approval to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Based on the schedule, the licensing process, which involves certification of the manuals by DGCA and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and audits of aerodrome facilities by DGCA, will commence by the end of September 2007.