BIA house panel moots jaunt for airports abroad for comparison

BIA house panel moots jaunt for airports abroad for comparison
Bangalore, DHNS:

Another foreign jaunt round the corner for our legislators?

The joint house committee established by the State Government, to look into the alleged lapses by the promoters of the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), just might end up visiting some of the best airports across the world. The purpose: to compare infrastructure facilities there, with that of BIA.

Right now, this possibility is in the opinion stage. Some of the members of the committee had brought this before the panel chairman, Dr Hemachandra Sagar. The committee, which met here for the first time on Saturday after being constituted on September 18, 2008, saw members expressing their anguish that BIA promoters had allegedly violated the terms of agreement. Some members expressed their desire to visit airports abroad - including the Zurich, Heathrow and Changi airports - to compare the facilities there.

Earlier, Dr Sagar had said the 20-member panel would examine, enquire and find facts/complaints received against the airport before submitting its final report to the government. The panel, he said, would give the BIA a specified timeframe to set right the issues raised against it. The committee has a maximum of three months to submit its report to the government.

“There is a need to examine the standards of airports abroad, and compare their facilities with that of BIA. Is infrastructure in place as per the concession agreement? Had the airport plan, including the modification or redesign, come to the government during the construction phase?” he questioned.

The 20-member committee will again meet shortly to deliberate the infrastructure facilities or the lack of it, as well as the issue of excess land being allotted to BIA before compiling a report.

BIA, a betrayal: DKS
Congress leader D K Shivakumar, one of the members of the house committee, who was among the first to raise the issue of the airport not conforming to international standards, continued his tirade against the new airport, and termed the construction of BIA as the ‘Biggest betrayal of the country’.

World standards
“An international airport should be comparable to world standards. The Cochin airport is built to reflect the architecture of Kerala. With 4000 acres being allotted to the BIA, they have utilised 2000 acres for commercial exploitation. It is obvious that airport has not been built to reflect the taste of Bangalore,” he alleged.

H D Revanna of the JD(S) questioned the intentions of State Government officials in the construction phase of BIA, and said the issues raised now could have been addressed before its opening itself.

“Facility wise, we will have to consider the infrastructure at world-class Eastern and Western airports” he observed.