BENGALURU: Industries and Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil on Wednesday said a second international airport for Bengaluru is certain and initial discussions are on in this regard. Bengaluru is a global city that needs another international airport with a capacity to handle 100 million passengers a year, he said.
The minister said the exclusivity clause with BIAL, which restricts building another airport within a radius of 150 km from KIA ends in 2033. “If we begin the process now, Bengaluru can have the second airport ready by then. Cities such as Mumbai and Delhi have second airports at a distance of 35-40 km. A decision will be taken soon to facilitate growth and improve the livability of Bengaluru,” the Minister told reporters.
Patil said the second airport needs around 5,000 acres of land. A high-level committee will take a decision, taking several factors into account. The government can now identify land for the project off Kanakapura Road and Mysuru Road, at Magadi, Doddaballapura, Dabaspet and Tumakuru.
Ruling out the possibility of developing HAL Airport as the second international airport, the minister said that it is a small one and can’t be expanded. “We have many options. According to norms, before deciding the airport’s location, we have to consider various factors. We are taking experts’ opinions,” he said.
“KIA, which is the third busiest airport in the country after Mumbai and Delhi, can handle 52 million passengers and 0.71 million tonnes of cargo a year. Further expansion may help handle 110 million passengers and 1.10 million tonnes of cargo a year. The airport is expected to reach its peak handling capacity by 2035.
Thereafter, there will be no scope to build runways as it already has two,” he said. On Tamil Nadu’s decision to build an airport at Hosur near Bengaluru, the minister said the CM of that state announced it after Karnataka started initial discussions on having the second airport. TN’s decision would not affect Karnataka, he said.
“Let them do whatever they want. We are very serious about the second airport for Bengaluru. After taking over as minister, I had decided to remove the exclusivity clause when the agreement would come for renewal,” Patil said.