FLIGHT SET, VISION ON GROUND

FLIGHT SET, VISION ON GROUND
Deccan Herald

Bangaloreans stare at a 35-km stretch to the upcoming international airport in Devanahalli. Plans to make that a quick drive, are still on paper.


As work on the upcoming international airport picks up pace for an April 2008 opening, the shift in action – from the existing HAL Airport to Devanahalli on Bangalore’s fringes – promises to change the City’s traffic pattern on the road. And the State willing, on the rail. Under the agreement between the Government of Karnataka and the Bangalore International Airport Limited, the existing HAL Airport has to stop operations once the Rs 1,930-crore greenfield airport is up and running, with no transition phase involved. That leaves Bangalore’s air passengers to negotiate a 35-km drive to and from the new airport. If the Airport Road experience is any indication, that could be quite a tedious drive. With the Infrastructure Development Department proposing a dedicated double-line rail link from the City to Devanahalli (see box), a workable solution has surfaced. At least, on paper. Considering the rate at which Devanahalli and surrounding villages are witnessing the realty boom, the region is in for burgeoning traffic in the next two to three years. That makes it a default candidate for a slew of new road projects as well.

Concern over rising traffic projections had late last year caused apprehensions on the project. The modular nature of the construction has helped BIAL take up effective damage control and the airport is being redesigned to accommodate 1,10,40,000 passengers a year, when it starts operations – almost double the initially projected traffic.

The pace is set for the deadline. From real estate to road traffic to rural development, there doesn’t seem to be a sector to be left untouched when those big birds start hovering around Gods’ own village. The runway to change, is just around the corner.

TRAFFIC BOOM

Devesh R Agarwal, Member of the BCIC General Committee and Airport Task Force, quotes from AAI figures that passenger traffic at the HAL Airport has grown by 78 per cent over the past two years. “The traffic has been consistently over 5.5 lakh per month since November 2005. That means 63-66 lakh pax by 2007,” he says. Agarwal, who calls himself an aviation enthusiast, says staff at the HAL Airport are doing a commendable job in the face of mounting pressure. At peak hours, the airport handles around 3,000 passengers per hour, virtually choking the terminal and of course, the ever-crammed Airport Road. “We need to address all these issues at the new airport. However, we also have to ensure good road connectivity between the City and Devanahalli. There’s no point battling a three-hour traffic to catch a 30-minute flight to Chennai,” he says.

Albert Brunner, CEO — BIAL

* How will the new airport cope with the booming traffic on a long-term basis?

*The redesign of the airport project is based on the revision of traffic forecast done in June 2005. The study estimated a traffic volume for the new Bangalore International Airport in 2008 at 67 lakh passengers. This figure is expected to climb to 85 lakh passengers in 2010. The new airport will be able to handle up to more than one crore passengers.

* How important for the airport is rail connectivity between the City and Devanahalli?

*From the point of passengers and the environment, a rail link is needed. I am happy that the present government takes it very seriously. We already have a rail link, we just need to connect it to the airport. The present government wants to do it fast.

* What’s the kind of construction progress you are looking at by year-end?

* By the end of the year, we expect to complete 58 to 60 per cent of the construction work. Also, in order to ensure that the airport opens in April 2008, BIAL would have completed the identification of its key commercial partners for four more agreements, including ground handling operations, in-flight catering, hotel, retail and restaurants by the year-end.

BIAL FIGURES IT OUT

2010 2015 2020 2025

Optimistic 1 101,90,762*; 139,22,812; 181,93,819; 234,44,066

Most Likely 85,40,579 ; 113,69,184; 145,36,743; 184,41,082

Conservative 71,44,506 ; 97,77,469; 12,284,213; 153,77,190

* Projected passengers per year. BIAL expects to have a nearly 110,40,000

passenger capacity when it opens in 2008 .

CHUG IN, FLY OUT

The Infrastructure Development Department’s proposal for a 33-km dedicated double-line rail link between Bangalore City and Devanahalli is expected to be reviewed by the State Cabinet before month-end. The rail link will be a worthy attempt to address the issue of connectivity, according to Vinay Kumar, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development Department.“The idea is to have the rail link cleared when the airport starts functioning. We are looking at various options with regard to station points within the City,” he says. The rail link, if in place, could considerably change the concept of distance in constantly expanding Bangalore.