The Hindu : Front Page : HAL Airport to get three more terminals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005

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HAL Airport to get three more terminals

Staff Reporter

Work to be completed in a year; stress on security at the airport

Airports Authority of India to invest Rs. 15 crores
HAL has Rs. 30-lakh plan to enhance security

278 military aircraft land and 289 take off from the airport every month

BANGALORE: The international airport at Devanahalli near Bangalore may be a few years away. But the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and aviation major, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), have decided not to wait till its completion to help passengers get a smooth passage at the existing HAL Airport.

Moves are afoot to expand the airport's capacity to handle more passengers and airlines.

On the cards are three additional terminals to be built by the AAI at a cost of Rs. 15 crore and a Rs. 30-lakh HAL plan to clear the bushes inside the airport premises and to repair its perimeter wall. The work on the new terminals, which would help the airport handle a few lakh more passengers, is likely to commence soon and will be completed in a year.

Considered to be one of the fastest growing airports in the country, the HAL Airport handles over 40 lakh passengers a year. With several new airlines mushrooming on the Indian aviation scene, bringing in more air passengers, the existing airport has found the pressure mounting on its infrastructure. The proposed expansion plans are designed to meet the new requirements, at least to a certain extent.

HAL has reportedly invited tenders for a number of civil works inside the airport. All civil works are expected to be completed within six months. Besides beautifying the area, clearing the bushes inside the airport premises and the repair of the perimeter wall are now considered crucial to the airport's security.

The airport will have to handle all the testing aircraft of the IAF and HAL, even after the airport is commissioned at Devanahalli.

The volume of Defence and VVIP flights to and from the airport will remain high. According to statistics, 278 military aircraft land and 289 depart every month from the airport.

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