BANGALORE: The construction of the Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli near here is ahead of schedule and the trial run of aircraft is expected in January next, according to Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

Briefing presspersons after reviewing the functioning of various departments of the Government over the past two days, he said the work on the airport was seven weeks ahead of schedule. All civil works would be completed by December and the trial run of aircraft should start by January. The Government has fixed April 2, 2008 as the tentative date for the inauguration of the airport.

Mr. Yediyurappa said the focus of the Government was on the completion of the link roads to the international airport. One civil dispute was hampering the construction of the main link road and efforts were on to solve this problem. The airport would be linked by a six-lane highway from Bangalore.

The Government had received a good response from national and international companies for the construction of airports in Gulbarga, Shimoga and Bijapur while the airport in Hassan would be constructed by the State Public Works Department. The tenders for the construction of these airports would be floated shortly and the work was expected to commence in about two months. The Defence authorities had granted permission for civil aircraft operations at the Bidar airport. The Government had directed the Deputy Commissioner of the district to acquire 100 acres of land adjoining the Defence area for construction of a terminal and other facilities, he added.

Mr. Yediyurappa said 20 concrete helipads would be built across the State to cover important tourist destinations. The Government had provided Rs. 10 lakh to each helipad and the deputy commissioners had been asked to provide one acre of land for each helipad.

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