The Karnataka government and airport developers have not responded to the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI’s) recent pre-feasibility report for a second airport in Bengaluru, the Ministry of Civil Aviation stated in Parliament.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the Centre has yet to receive a response to the AAI’s pre-feasibility studies for three proposed sites for a greenfield airport in Bengaluru. His statement came in response to a question from Bangalore Central BJP MP P C Mohan.
“Based on the request of Government of Karnataka (GoK), Airports Authority of India (AAI) has conducted pre-feasibility studies of three sites for development of a second airport in Bengaluru. The pre-feasibility study report has been sent to GoK. Government of India (GoI) has not received any proposal thereafter under GFA Policy either from GoK or any airport developer for development of a second greenfield airport near Bengaluru,” Mohol said.
He added that as per the concession agreement between the Centre and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), “no new or existing airport (except development of Mysore and Hassan as domestic airports) within an aerial distance of 150 km of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru is permitted before the 25th anniversary of the airport opening date”.
The development of any new airport within 150 km of KIA or the reopening of the existing HAL airport prior to the KIA’s 25th anniversary would require consent from BIAL in terms of provisions of the concession agreement, Mohol further said.
Mohan had raised a question on whether the Centre had received any proposal for a second airport for Bengaluru city or reopening the HAL Airport.
The three locations shortlisted by the state for Bengaluru’s second airport are near Chudahalli in the Bengaluru South taluk, Somanahalli in the Bengaluru South taluk, and one near Magadi-Nelamangala in the new Bengaluru South district.
Story continues below this ad
Last month, the AAI presented a report to the Karnataka government on the choice of location for a second international airport in Bengaluru. An AAI expert team had examined the potential sites for Bengaluru’s second international airport in April this year.
M B Patil, the state minister for infrastructure development, had stated then that while there was a possibility that the AAI team would recommend the sites it inspected, airport construction companies would also evaluate the feasibility of the locations.
The Karnataka government has initiated the process for a second airport in Bengaluru, keeping in mind the agreement with BIAL, which prohibits the establishment of another airport within a 150 km radius of the existing airport until 2033.
“If we begin the groundwork now, the second international airport will be ready by 2033. A project of this scale typically takes a minimum of five to six years to complete,” Patil said recently.
Story continues below this ad
Currently, only two cities in India—New Delhi (Noida) and Mumbai (Navi Mumbai)—have two international airports. “We will also consult with the companies involved in developing those airports,” the minister said, indicating that the state government is aware of Tamil Nadu’s plans to construct an airport in Hosur on the border of Bengaluru.
The state government had earlier shortlisted three sites to address the city’s growing aviation needs. Bengaluru’s increasing industrial growth and the strain on civilian air traffic at the existing Kempegowda International Airport are cited as necessitating a new airport.