With Kempegowda International Airport at Devanahalli likely to reach peak capacity of 20 million passengers annually in another five years, Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL), the airport operator, is expected to go in for the second round of expansion soon.
The airport was inaugurated on Saturday by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh after the first phase of expansion, which included expansion of terminal building 1A and improved amenities, at a cost of Rs. 1,500 crore. The expansion work on the five-year-old airport had started in 2010.
GVK chairman G.V.K. Reddy said that BIAL, in which GVK holds 43 per cent stake, is in the process of preparing plans and estimates that would be part of the second phase of expansion. “It will be placed before the board for approval and also before the government.”
Mr. Reddy said the next phase would include a second runway and another terminal that could handle around 45 million passengers a year. “This will be sufficient till 2030-2035.”
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BIAL managing director G.V. Sanjay Reddy added: “We have created a master plan to handle 55 million passengers a year for which we need to build further runway and terminals.”
Real estate potentialBIAL is also exploring setting up an “airport city” in Devanahalli, including building hotels, said Mr. Sanjay Reddy. “Phases in which real estate will be developed and the required investments will be decided by 2014. Government approval will also be required for this,” he added.
User feeHe said BIAL was expecting the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority to come out with a “critical” decision on the user development fee in the next three months. As per regulations, the revision application for the fee was filed as the airport had completed five years.