‘Upgrade or be grounded’

‘Upgrade or be grounded’
NEW DELHI


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The 20-member joint legislative committee from Karnataka on Bengaluru International Airport has urged the Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel to warn contractors to bring the airport to international standards or ensure Airports Authority of India takes over BIA.
The committee, headed by BJP MLA Dr D. Hemachandra Sagar, Congress MLA D.K. Shivkumar and JD(S) MLA H.D. Revanna and others, told Mr Patel that “the BIA is nothing but a glorified factory shed, whatever was promised has not been delivered.” BIA, built at a cost of Rs 2470 crore took two years to complete. “Although pas senger traffic is higher, Bengaluru’s airport is built on only 4,000 acres, as opposed to Hyderabad’s 5495 acres. While three percent of Delhi airport is commercialized, 50 percent of Bengaluru Airport is commercial space. Unacceptable,” committee members, who will submit their report in two months, said.

The committee, travelling to Shanghai and Singapore to compare the facilities, demanded the existing terminals be expanded.