‘NR gave everything to the project’

INTERVIEW: ALBERT BRUNNER

‘NR gave everything to the project’

The Financial Express

He is the man who, though not in the eye of the storm, still has to work perilously close to it. How will the spat between former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and Infosys chief mentor Narayana Murthy affect the future of the BIAL project. Chief executive officer Albert Brunner speaks to FE’s Jaishankar Jayaramiah.

How did Mr Murthy’s chairmanship help in shaping up the Bangalore International Airport Project? What kind of contributions did he make?

Mr Narayana Murthy has made tremendous contribution to this project. He has been very supportive of it from the very beginning and has done everything possible to make it a reality. He interacted with the state and central governments regularly on our behalf and opened doors for us at every stage. He helped push the project to its final stage.

Is Mr Murthy’s resignation from chairmanship going to affect the progress of the project?

BIAL is committed to building this airport and we will work towards overcoming all these difficulties and complete it on time.

How did the promoters, Siemens-Zurich Airport-L&T consortium react to Mr Narayana Murthy’s resignation?

It is too early to comment on this. The board will meet and discuss this at a later stage.

Mr Deve Gowda has charged that Mr Murthy never attended the meetings convened in BIAL premises. Is it true?

Despite his hectic schedule, Mr Murthy chaired all the board meetings of BIAL barring one.

Would Mr Murthy’s resignation diminish the interest of Siemens and L&T in the project?

It would not be proper for BIAL to answer questions that are addressed to its shareholders.

If Mr Murthy does not withdraw his resignation, would BIAL identify anyone to be its chairman?

According to our shareholders’ agreement, a new chairman would have to be nominated by the government of Karnataka and appointed by BIAL’s board.

Do you see the project as getting delayed?

There is no delay in the Bangalore International Airport project. It is progressing well and is on schedule.