Fly away

Hyderabad International Airport Limited (HIAL)

Cost: Rs 2,478 crore

Time taken for construction: 3 years

Initial passenger capacity: 12 million passengers annually

Projected passenger capacity: 40 million passengers annually

Number of runways: One (4,260)

Number of aircraft bays: 42

Number of aerobridges: 12

Passenger service fee: Free (for first month)

Distance to centre of city: 25 km

Connectivity: Work in progress on some major road projects. A 11.6 km elevated expressway also planned. There are also plans to construct a dedicated rail link from the existing Begumpet airport to HIAL.

With an imposing 72m high ATC tower, HIAL should solve Hyderabad's air connectivity problems. The new airport can handle the Airbus A380. With GMR also planning to set up a Maintenance and Repair Operation (MRO) with Lufthansa Technik, HIAL can become India's air maintenance and air cargo hub.

Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL)

Cost: Rs 2,470 crore

Time taken for construction: 3 years

Initial passenger capacity: 11 million passengers annually

Projected passenger capacity: 50 million passengers annually

Number of runways: One (4,000m)

Number of aircraft bays: 42

Number of aerobridges: 8

Passenger service fee: Under discussion

Distance to centre of city: 30 km

Connectivity: A six-lane highway has been completed and further projects are being undertaken. There are plans for high-speed rail service to the centre of the city.

The airport has been designed to be operationally efficient, but many believe the distance of the airport and poor connectivity might actually put travellers off. However, the new airport should take care of the criminally long queues at the existing HAL airport.

Surging CEO confidence in India, China

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The CEOs' confidence about prospects for business declined for the first times since the 2003 survey as fears of a global recession emergedas a major threat to growth in Pricewaterhouse Coopers 11th Annual Global CEO Survey (1, 150 interviews with CEOs were conduct in 50 countries during the last quarter of 2007). Compared to last year, a possible economic downturn is the major risk factor agitating CEOs. All other risks to growth-including energy supplies, global climate change, and terrorism-declined as business threats. Overregualtion and availability of talent were also top CEO concerns.

The percentage of CEOs who said they are "very confident" about revenue growth over the next 12 months fell two percentage points from last year to 50 per cent. The CEOs, however, remained nearly twice as confident as they were in 2003.