Airport: New options for link road

Airport: New options for link road
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Taking forward last-leg initiatives to combat worries over road connectivity to the upcoming airport in Devanahalli, the State Government is exploring new options, including possibilities of a nearly signal-free Outer Ring Road.


V P Baligar, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development Department, said on Friday that the airport task force was looking at the option, to ensure better connectivity to the airport from the Hebbal-Yelahanka direction.

The Public Works Department is also working on roads connecting northern parts — including Whitefield and Hoskote — to the airport. Improvement work on many roads, including the NH 207 and SH 104, is expected to be complete by February, 2008.

Baligar said work on the trumpet interchange that provides access to the airport from NH 7 has been hit again after Girias Investment Private Ltd — which owns a part of the land that has been earmarked for the interchange — has now approached the Supreme Court. Only two loops in the interchange are expected to be ready when the airport starts operations on March 30, 2008.

Second runway

The Bangalore International Airport Limited is also planning to create a second runway in Greenfield Airport.

Planned as part of the airport’s third expansion during 2013-14, the second runway will help the airport touch a capacity of 40 million passengers per year. Baligar said with the present runway, the airport can handle up to 20 million passengers a year.

As per the original schedule, the second runway was planned for the airport’s final phase (2030 and ahead).

The new runway will be built south of the existing 4-km runway. However, the proposal is yet to be cleared by the Union Defence Ministry that is reviewing the potential air traffic congestion (the Indian Air Force base in Yelahanka is only a few kilometres away).

Training

The IDD is organising training sessions to familiarise officials from various government departments with the concept of Public Private Partnership.

The first batch, of 30 officials, was trained during sessions on November 15 and 16, Baligar said during an interactive meeting organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The next sessions will be held on December 16 and 17.

Swearing by the PPP mantra, Baligar said expansion of airports in Mangalore, Belgaum, Hubli and Bidar, apart from new airports in Hassan, Gulbarga and Shimoga was in line with the government initiative to ensure better air connectivity across the State.

He said the State would have to prioritise “credible and bankable” projects to reap in best returns from the PPP model.