Put user fee on hold, BIAL told

Put user fee on hold, BIAL told
From B S Arun, DH News Service, New Delhi:
Not happy with the BIAL proposing to charge user development fee for its embarking passengers, the Centre has asked the project operator to consider imposing the fee only after it furnishes the audited project cost, like the Hyderabad airport.


Reacting to a decision of the BIAL to charge UDF, the civil aviation ministry has given the example of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) which has acceded to the ministry request. Accordingly, GHIAL has planned to charge no fee for the embarking domestic passenger for the first four months but will slap Rs 1,000 on the outgoing international passenger.

The ministry was understood to have made the proposal to BIAL CEO Albert Brunner on Tuesday. Brunner, who was here, reportedly informed the ministry that it was up to the consortium running the BIAL to decide on it.

According to the ministry, GHIAL has agreed to the proposal to work out the user fee during the period of 120 days available for it to furnish the audited project cost after the opening of the airport.

Further talks

The ministry may hold further talks with BIAL when its team led by Secretary Ashok Chawla will be in Bangalore to witness the first landing and take off at the Devanahalli airport on March 7.

The Bengaluru Inter-national Airport Limited had planned, as per the Concession Agreement, to levy Rs 675 plus taxes per departing domestic passenger and Rs 955 plus taxes per departing passenger.

However, after a request from the ministry and the State government, it reduced the user fee to Rs 240 plus taxes for domestic passengers and Rs 520 plus taxes for international passengers. This will be only for the first two months after which the normal fee will come into play. Unlike in the case of GHAIL, the project cost of BIAL has shot up from Rs 1200 crore to Rs 2400 crore. A Parliamentary committee asked the government to immediately withdraw it.

The committee said the government had turned down the AAI proposal to levy UDF of Rs 300 per passenger at the Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram airports in view of expansion projects there.

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