Airport 2008

But where are the roads leading to Bangalore’s new flying hub?

Those planning a trip to Bangalore by air next year may do well to avoid it for some time. The new international airport at Devanahalli will open on March 30, but the roads connecting it to the city will take some time to shape up. Whilst industry bodies are fuming, N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman & Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies, has been proved right (once again). In November last year, Murthy had commented that Bangalore would turn out to be a “laughing stock” if the airport came up much before the roads did.

The impending crisis has provoked demands for retaining the existing HAL airport till the roads are in place. But Albert Brunner, CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), has ruled out any such concession. Such actions, he has warned, will have serious legal consequences from those who have signed up for hotel, logistics and other facilities. “You cannot have one airport for longhaul and another for short-haul flights,” he said at a recent roundtable on “Connectivity to International Airports.”

Brunner, the man behind the expansion of the Zurich Airport, however, is willing to relent a bit. BIAL is not against temporary taxi services between the two airports, he says. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the defense aerospace public sector undertaking, will lose Rs 150 crore annually due to closure of the present airport, and is unlikely to let go of any opportunity to cash in on the road deficit at the new airport.

Bangalore’s air traffic, meanwhile, is showing signs of phenomenal growth, forcing BIAL to increase airport capacity by 40 percent. When the project work began in July 2005, annual traffic was 4 million passengers and cargo 1.6 lakh tonnes. But there are 9 million passengers flying now and cargo has shot up to 3 lakh tonnes. As BIAL officials say, they will expand the airport further after it is open. They are, however, helpless about road connectivity. Says Brunner: “We are responsible for building the airport. We have now also taken into our scope the Trumpet Interchange, which will connect NH 7 to the airport and will be ready on the airport opening date. BIAL is working closely with the government to improve the accessibility to the new airport.”

Adds V.P. Baligar, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development: “We could not go ahead with projects as planned due to a series of litigations over land acquisition. We have overcome all of them, and are now left with only five months. Of the three roadover-bridges (RoB) proposed, two will be ready by the airport opening date. But the third one, leading to the airport, will take four more months as it is cleared of litigations only now.” Till it is built, passengers need only to proceed a little further, take a U-turn and reach the airport, adds Baligar.

The Railways, meanwhile, has washed its hands off. Its existing tracks are not available for short-distance trains. But the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has offered to develop a high-speed rail link to the airport. That is, however, a five-year story. The National Highways authority is also planning to widen the NH 7 into an eight-lane expressway. In the short-term, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has offered to run 40 Volvo buses from different parts of the city but not before asking: “Show us the roads. We will run buses.”