Industries Minister M B Patil says that the HAL airport should be opened for commercial operations, as it will benefit from domestic operations. It is conveniently located for public use.
Credit: DH Photo
The report of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) on Bengaluru’s second international airport has been delayed again.
On September 1, Industries Minister M B Patil had said that the state government was hoping to receive the report in two weeks.
A well-placed source told DH that the report was likely to be delayed further.
Meanwhile, a team of state government officials is likely to meet officials of the civil aviation ministry this week to “take stock of the matter”.
Green clearance pending
According to a senior AAI official, the project was progressing on expected lines.
The AAI had submitted the report to the civil aviation ministry on June 23.
“As far as we know, the environmental clearance for the report is still pending. There might be some delay due to certain key officials being unavailable. Other than that, the project is moving on expected lines. The Hosur airport, for example, is following a similar timeline,” he said.
Minister backs move to reopen HAL airport
On the topic of Bengaluru’s HAL airport tentatively reopening in 2033, Patil said that he was in favour of the decision.
“The airport should be opened for commercial operations, as it will benefit from domestic operations. It is conveniently located for public use,” he told DH.
He said that the reopening of the HAL airport would not have any impact on the proposed second airport.
“HAL is a small operation, and it will not be able to handle large-scale international operations. What we have proposed is an international airport with a capacity to handle about one lakh passengers daily. Each airport will serve a different purpose,” he added.
The AAI has prepared a 10-year master plan, intending to renovate and expand the HAL airport. With the expansion, the airport’s capacity is to be increased to 40 lakh passengers per annum, and over 2,000 passengers during
peak hours.
Currently, Kempegowda International Airport handles 1.2 lakh passengers every day — about 4,000 per day during peak hours, in both terminals. The expansion of Terminal 2 at KIA is expected to begin early next year.