— Hari Marar, President - Operations, Bengaluru International AirportDuring the early part of this decade, Indian
government realised that far from being a
mere mode of transportation for an elite
group, aviation was crucial for sustainable development
of the country's trade and tourism.
According to the airport infrastructure policy 1997,
at a time when the Indian economy was all set to
integrate itself into the global economy, the
upgrading and modernisation of infrastructure
and its efficient use assumed critical importance.
In this context, it was considered vital that airport infrastructure grew in
anticipation of the escalating needs of the air transport industry.
As this is a capital-intensive sector, there was an obvious need for perspective
planning with a vision for the next 20 years and to muster the combined
resources of the public and private sectors, both domestic and foreign.
By the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the investment required in the airport
sector would be around $15 billion, more than 50 per cent of which is
expected to come from the private sector. By the year 2020, passenger traffic
throughout is expected to rise to 450 million.
The government recognised the need to bring the level of air transport
services and facilities to be at par with international standards and to handle
increasing traffic volumes. Private sector participation is necessary for
knowledge transfer and as a major source of funding to meet the massive
infrastructure needs of an emerging economy. The liberalisation of the aviation
industry creates a constructive cycle of economic growth by making
the industry more competitive, efficient and increasing accessibility to a
larger proportion of the population.
Operating on an international airport, especially on the PPP model, has its
set of challenges given the magnitude of the project. It involves coping with
huge time pressure, recruiting and training personnel and, coordinating
with various stakeholders and partners like caterers, ground handlers and
retailers etc. who are willing and are able to provide service according to the
highest international standards, while maintaining a sense of transparency
within the organisation.
Latest developments
Bengaluru International Airport Ltd airport began operation in May 2008
and is India's first greenfield project built on a public-private partnership
model. Our aim is to establish Bengaluru International Airport as India's
leading airport in terms of quality and efficiency and set a benchmark for the
future amongst Indian airports. It is built and operated to best international
standards and is a new start in Indian aviation with regard to the passenger
experience on ground.
Three years of successful operations and the airport still has the advantage
of a very attractive passenger profile, fuelling airlines' desire to make
this route a reality for them. The airport has been growing at a phenomenal
pace of 18 per cent per annum, for the last three years. This makes Bengaluru
International Airport one of the busiest greenfield airports in India.
Between now and 2015, the air traffic at Bengaluru International Airport is
estimated to increase from the current 12.3 million passengers annually to
approximately 17 million passengers. In keeping with this rapidly growing
passenger traffic to and from Bengaluru, the Terminal 1 (T1) expansion of
Bengaluru International Airport will deliver enhanced capacity and operational
performance. The terminal when completed, will double the existing
terminal area of 73,347 sq. metres. This will take the terminal capacity to 17
million passengers per annum, with flexibility to expand to 20 million passengers
per annum, a requirement that will meet the traffic demand for the
next few years.
BIAL felt that the existing building should be extended in such a way as to
give the entire complex a new lease on life, effectively producing a new
design; stronger architecture, better able to offer the stature to compliment
the scale of the site.
Designed by architectural firm HOK, along with several leading international
architects, planners, urban designers, landscape architects and
engineering consultants, the expanded T1 sports an enhanced and modern
design elevation. The enhanced T1 will be spread over an area of
approximately 150,556 sq. metres. The T1 expansion commenced in June
2011 and is scheduled to be operational in early 2013.