From: http://www.thetribuneonline.com/aviation.htm
---------------- Bangalore shows the way for greenfield airport By Deepak Arora In a historic step, the Government of India has signed a concession agreement with Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) for setting up the first-ever greenfield airport in the country. Greenfield airports have been conceptualized to bridge the huge resource gap and to increase the management and efficiency levels to world-class standards. The airport would be constructed through private-public partnership, with the joint venture company comprising Karnataka State Investment and Industries Development Corporation (KSIDC) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) as well as a consortium of Siemens (Germany), Unique Zurich (Switzerland) and Larsen and Toubro (India). The new airport would come up at Devanahalli in Karnataka in three years time. While KSIIDC and AAI would hold 26 per cent equity in the joint venture firm BIAL, the private consortium would hold the remaining 74 per cent. The total project cost of building the plush airport is estimated to be Rs 1,300 crore. Civil Aviation Secretary Ajay Prasad, BIAL chief W Bischoff and Karnataka's additional chief secretary S Krishnakumar signed the concession agreement in New Delhi on July 5 in the presence of Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh and his Deputy Siddaramaiah. The new Bangalore airport would be constructed on a build, own, operate and transfer basis. The old Bangalore airport, operated by the Indian Air Force and the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), would be closed down to civilian traffic after completion of the new airport, as per a recent decision of the Union Cabinet. The airport would accommodate a minimum of 20 aircraft of different types and have an ultimate capacity of catering to 40 million passengers, with the initial phase planned for a capacity of five million. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Praful Patel said that the Aviation sector shou ld not be restricted only to flying planes but also to developing the infrastructure facilities including airports of world class standard. He said that the Bangalore International Airport would usher in a new era in the field of Civil Aviation. Mr Patel said another greenfield airport would shortly come up at Hyderabad and give "tough competition" to the proposed airport at Devanahalli. "Such a competition will usher in a new era in airport development as also the civil aviation sector in the country." The Minister lamented that in a country like India with more than a billion people, there were just 150 planes in all. In the US, he said, one can find so many planes at a small airport. Time has now come, he said, when the civil aviation sector should act as the catalyst for growth by increasing the number of aircrafts, the number of people who fly and developing infrastructure of international standards. Observing that it was "not a happy sight" for foreign travellers to land at Indian airports, Mr Patel said the modernistion and restructuring of Delhi and Mumbai airports would be given the "highest priority" as also the development of infrastructure at other airports in the country. He urged all States in the country to reduce sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which eats into the revenues of the airlines. "The high cost of ATF is largely due to the state sales tax. I urge all state governments to loosen a little bit on the sales tax in order to gain a high volume of air traffic and income. More revenue could be earned from areas like trade, commerce and tourism if the aviation sector flourished," he said. Speaking on the occasion, Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh said with the signing of the agreement, over 10 years of efforts by the state government had fructified. "It marks a new development in India's infrastructure by combining private sector expertise and state capacity." The Karnataka government has provided Rs 350 crore soft loan to BIAL and would provide budgetary support of Rs 400 crore. The concession agreement is a complex document, which has been finalised after numerous meetings between the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Law & Justice, Finance, Law, Government of Karnataka and the BIAL. The agreement provides for Rights and Obligations of Government of India (GOI) and BIAL. The agreement provides for Rights and Obligations of GOI and BIAL, Operation and Maintenance Standards including monitoring thereof Airport Charges, Provision of Reserved Activities like Customs, Immigration, Security, Liabilities and Indemnities and Resolution Mechanism for Disputes, if any. The Central Government has agreed to grant concession to BIAL to design, develop, finance, construct, commission, maintain, operate and manage the airport. Karnataka is providing 4300 acres of land for this purpose. The proposed airport at Bangalore will have a runway designed to accept Boeing - 747 type of aircraft, having a length of 4000m and PCN 80. The Apron will be adequate enough to accommodate a mix of minimum 20 aircraft. The terminal building with an air-conditioned built up area of 55850 sq meter shall provide all modern facilities. All the facilities have been so designed that the modular expansion shall be possible to meet the growing demand without compromising on the quality of service. Meanwhile, following international trends, Air-India wants to be a part of the modernisation and privatisation of the Mumbai and Delhi airports. That is, it wants to own at least one terminal in each airport. "We want to own at least one terminal in the Mumbai and Delhi airports. We want do this by becoming a part of the modernisation project," according to Mr V Thulsidas, chairman and managing director, Air-India. The move by the national carrier follows the government's decision to free Delhi and Mumbai airports -- the two largest airports in the country -- from the complete control of the Airports Authority of India and allow the private sector, public sector undertakings and domestic airlines to be part owners of the airports. Under the present policy, private companies can hold 74 per cent equity in the two airports with a 49 per cent cap on foreign direct investment, while government-owned companies, including Air-India and Indian Airlines, can hold the remaining 26 per cent. Of the 25 per cent private Indian holding, Indian domestic carriers are allowed to hold up to 10 per cent equity. Air-India wants to be a part of the government entities that will be selected to hold equity in the venture. It is also open to being part owners of the government holding in the venture. However, Air-India is yet to make a formal proposal. "We are evaluating the situation and will take a decision in consultation with the government," said Mr Thulsidas said. Air India thinks owning a terminal in the two busiest airports in the country will help it manage its operations better. Besides, excess capacity in the terminals can be given out to other airlines to generate additional revenue. The CMD said "this is the practice in most parts of the world. National carriers operate and own terminals in most of the airports. We also want to do it in India." Once the airline owns the terminal, it will be undertaking functions like ground-handling and other services in that terminal. ------------------- It may not be easy for Goa to depart from the now-standard path for building greenfield airports where existing facilities are under the control of the defence forces/establishments. We have seen this in Kochi and now in Bangalore. The same seems to be on the cards for Pune. So ... It may be too much to expect Goa netas to display a measure of intellectual liveliness in aviation matters which is even slightly off dead centre!