BENGALURU: To cope with the expected surge in passenger and cargo traffic at Kempegowda International Airport when the second terminal is expected to become operational next year, the Bangalore International Airport Ltd plans to extend the existing four lanes leading from the Trumpet Interchange to the airport into a ten-lane one.
Briefing newspersons on Thursday, BIAL Chief Operating Officer Javed Malik said, “The airport will get busier with 45 to 65 million passengers in the coming years. That is why we are putting in infrastructure for that. Five lanes (in one direction) from two lanes is a significant increase in capacity, an elevated highway too will increase our capacity,” he said.
He also said space will be left along the lane to put in place piers for the proposed Metro line to the airport (Nagawara-Gottigere line extension). Asked about the specific locations for the Metro stations, Malik said, “We are still working on that. We will have two stops somewhere in the ecosystem that will connect to the terminal as well as the 4,000 acres spread out here. We have not identified the locations.”
Malik refused to give a categorical answer on whether the Eastern tunnel connectivity proposed for the airport would come up. BIAL had threatened to shelve this plan in case the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India slashed the User Development Fee for passengers this year.
“It is a critical connectivity for the city. Whether it comes up on the Southern or Eastern part, it is very important to put in place a system to ensure traffic flows in a smooth and flowing manner,” he said. “If the State government wants the project, we would be happy to facilitate it,” Malik added.
‘Cargo ops at KIA contribute 11% to state’s GDP’
Bengaluru: The cargo operations at Kempegowda International Airport contribute 11% towards the state’s GDP, said Javed Malik, Chief Operating Officer, BIAL. He was speaking to mediapersons who were taken on a walk through the two cargo centres operated by Air India SATS Airport Service Pvt Ltd and Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore Pvt Ltd.
AISATS is a joint venture between Air India Ltd and SATS Ltd. Its COOLPORT has been built to handle a diverse range of cargo stored in separate environments, including temperatures ranging between -5 to -25. Mike Chew, CEO, AISATS said, “It has handled over 3,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical cargo at its COOLPORT facility in financial year 2017-2018 saw year-on-year growth of 120%.” The cargo volumes are expected to reach 62.5 million tonnes in 2018 which is an increase of 4.5% over the previous year, he said. The 4,000-acre campus handles perishables.