BIA still waiting for ribbon-cutting

BIA still waiting for ribbon-cutting
Neither State Govt Nor Aviation Ministry Appears Enthusiastic About A Formal Do
Anshul Dhamija | TNN

Bangalore: It has been 180 days since the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) took flight and 172 days since chief minister B S Yeddyurappa took the oath of office. But there’s still been no official inaugural ceremony for the airport.
The Rs 2,500-crore mega project was launched with the promise of an official flagging-off ceremony once a new state government took over. BIAL had sent a letter to the ministry of civil aviation requesting for an inaugural ceremony soon after its launch and is still awaiting a response.
When TOI asked BIAL CEO Albert Brunner whether there would ever be an inaugural ceremony, he said, “I will put in a request to the chief minister once the house committee meetings on the airport have concluded.”
BIA’s low-key launch stood in stark contrast to the fanfare at the launch of the new Hyderabad airport in March, which had the likes of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and civil aviation minister Praful Patel flagging it off.
In Bangalore’s case, neither the newly elected BJP state government nor the civil aviation ministry appears enthusiastic about having a formal do.
Meanwhile, BIAL is monitoring the current traffic trends at the Bangalore airport to understand future expansion requirements. The airport’s estimates indicate that Bangalore’s passenger air traffic will nosedive by 10% in 2008-09 to 9.2 million, from last year’s 10.2 million. “With the current traffic projections, BIA has enough capacity to handle traffic for the next two years. Our traffic study will be ready in two-three months, after which we will take a decision on our expansion,” Brunner said.
He added that the second phase of expansion — of building a second terminal and runway — would take another 3 to 4 years to be completed.
On the issue of user development fee (UDF), Brunner said, “We are still awaiting a response from the civil aviation ministry.” But, he said, combining all factors — the slowdown in the aviation industry and no domestic UDF being charged — BIAL has accumulated losses of Rs 132 crore for the last six months. That’s Rs 22 crore a month. Further, domestic and international airlines have run up dues of Rs 59 crore, by delaying payments to BIAL on airport-related charges like landing and parking.
“While for some airlines we have extended the deadline of making payments, there are some with whom we have serious issues,” said Brunner.
PLANE facts
Second phase expansion will envisage a bidding process for its construction when plans are finalized
BIAL projects a 10% drop in passenger air traffic for 2008-09 at 9.2 million
Airport has accumulated losses of Rs 132 crore in the last 6 months
Airlines delay payment to BIAL, run up Rs 59 crore of dues
BIAL plans to unlock value by promoting mixed-use real estate development over 200 acres of land. To float tenders for developers.