Now, BIA charts an Airport City

Now, BIA charts an Airport City
By S Praveen Dhaneshkar, DH News Service, Bangalore:
The Airport City will create one lakh jobs for qualified people. It can be accessed by a ringed network transport system consisting wide three lane roads, dedicated perimeter bus lanes with bus stands located at strategic points with overbridge/underpass pedestrian connections...


As the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) gets into an expansion mode, the promoters of the new greenfield aerodrome have announced grandiose plans to construct an ‘Airport City’ within the premises of BIA.

The new announcement comes close on the heels of the BIA going public with its move to immediately construct a separate terminal for budget airlines, besides a second runway and terminal building later.

The Airport City, meanwhile, will be spread over 215 acres and witness over a million people live and work in BIA. “What a passenger sees on the airport premises today is only phase one — the tip of the iceberg! The future vision of this airport is on the lines of building an aerotropolis. An aerotropolis is a city in which the layout, infrastructure and economy are centred around a major airport,” according to officials of the BIA.

Aviation experts in the field are of the opinion that airports of the 21st century will shape business location and urban development, as much as sea-ports did in the 18th century, railroads in the 19th century and highways in the 20th century.

The Airport City will create one lakh jobs for qualified people. It can be accessed by a ringed network transport system consisting wide three lane roads, dedicated perimeter bus lanes with bus stands located at strategic points with overbridge/underpass pedestrian connections.

Space to park over 40,000 cars would be provided apart from Wi-Fi access.

BIAL envisages the Airport City to be a flourishing destination in itself, wherein people will not only board/alight from flights but also relax, do business and shop.

Creating thousands of job opportunities, it will strengthen and foster the economic growth of the City and the State.

The City will have more hotels complimenting one another, along with destination retail, serviced apartments, office park and a software campus.

The City landscape

The Airport City will be connected to the proposed high-speed rail link and the road expressway from the central business district, M G Road.

It will comprise three prime zones of development viz, Downtown, Business Unit and Technology Centre. Each area is positioned differently.

Downtown: Closest to the terminal building, Downtown will be positioned as a typical urban entertainment hub spread over approximately 39 acres of land.

It will house a shopping area with various retail formats, entertainment facilities, offices and hospitality facilities.
An ‘Airport Visitor Centre’ is also planned opposite the Downtown area.

Business Unit: Lying between the Downtown area on the east and the middle area on the west, Business Unit will be built on approximately 46 acres of land.

It will house a business-park for premium office space and consist of support retail, a 3 star and 4 star hotel.
Technology Centre: To promote the concept of ‘Bengaluru International Airport’ as a business address, the Technology Centre spread over 90 acres and situated just a few minutes drive from the airport terminal building, is expected to be a hub for global multinational conglomerates that will have the option of establishing high-end research campuses for highly qualified personnel engaged in cutting edge development.

The Technology Centre is part of a multi-product SEZ, which has recently been formally approved by the government of India.

Airport Hotel: Avoiding gridlocking the central business district of Bangalore, the busy traveller and the executive will have easy access to a hotel at the BIA.

Constructed by a consortium of Larsen and Toubro and the Oberoi Group under the ‘Trident’ brand at a cost of Rs 250 crore, the hotel will be within walking distance from the terminal building.