By V.S. Karnic
IANS
Bangalore : There is an increasing demand in India's IT capital to retain civil flights at the present international airport here even after a new one becomes operational early next year. But the company building the new facility seems to be in no mood to acquiesce.
The new airport is coming up at Devanahalli, about 30 km from the city centre, while the present one run by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is about 10 km away.
The agreement between Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the builders of the new airport, and the Indian government stipulates that no other civilian airport will be permitted to operate within 150 km of the new one.
But pressure is mounting on the state government not to completely shut down civil operations at the present airport but to retain it at least for short-distance flights.
BIAL, which is building the Devanahalli airport on a build, own and operate (BOO) basis, however, may not be willing to dilute the terms of the agreement.
Responding to queries by IANS on the demand, BIAL CEO Albert Brunner said the Concession Agreement with the government "is very clear" on the issue.
Asked whether BIAL was under pressure to give in to the demand and whether the company would take to legal recourse to ensure compliance with the agreement, Brunner said: "No, we have only heard of such proposals through the media. However, the Concession Agreement is very clear."
"Based on the Concession Agreement between BIAL and the government of India, it has been specified that the new airport will replace the existing Bangalore airport and the present airport will be shut for civil aviation," Brunner told IANS.
The BIAL board is to meet June 22 and the issue of retaining the present airport for civil aviation may also come up. The meeting is aimed at consider the central civil aviation ministry's criticism of the design and aesthetic aspect of the new airport and to review the progress in building a new fast track approach road to the airport.
The demand to retain civil flights at the present international airport was first raised with Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy by representatives of several IT companies recently.
Though Kumaraswamy did not make any commitment, the demand is receiving support from many quarters as is evident from letters to local newspapers and readers' responses.
The demand has also got a boost with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel reportedly being in favour of it. He had been quoted as saying so during a function in Mumbai.