Expansion plans may prove costly

Expansion plans may prove costly
The Times of India

Bangalore: Eight months into construction, the spectre of delay has loomed over the Bangalore international airport (BIA) yet again. If a decision on airport expansion is not taken within 15 days, the pace of progress will be hit.

From September 2005, expansion of BIA from its planned capacity of 4.5 million passengers to 11.4 million was on the anvil. In October, Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel told the airport company — Bangalore International Airport Limited — that expansion was mandatory.

“These plans have been to be finalised soon, lest the progress will be hit,’’ infrastructure secretary Vinay Kumar told The Times of India. Every day of delay will hit the construction work on the ground, which will soon have to be halted till the final decision is taken. The BIAL discuss the issue on March 9. The stumbling block is the question of who will build the additional areas needed for capacity expansion.

The Centre has indicated that BIAL should tender out these areas for fresh bidders. This has caused consternation, as the largest segment of expansion is the terminal building, which Larsen and Toubro is constructing.

“L&T cannot construct one bit of it and ask some one else to do the rest. Design and quality is bound to change,’’ airport sources said.

Besides, the fresh tendering process will take a few months. This may affect the scheduled airport completion date of April 2, 2008.

Kumar said both factors had been taken into consideration. “There is no question of compromising on deadline. Considering this and the physical restrictions, we are working out what and how much can be tendered out again,’’ he said.

BIAL, the Airports Authority of India and the state government, through the Karnataka State Industrial Investment Development Corporation, have each worked out their own formula. These will have to be synchronised and cleared by the BIAL board before further construction can take off.

The plus point: Financing for expansion has been worked out. The airport will cost Rs 1,811 crore (up from Rs 1,411 crore). But there will be no increase in the state support share of Rs 350 crore. The additional Rs 400 crore will be raised as debt.