Bengaluru airport's second runway to be ready for take-off by October

Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport will have its second runway ready for take-off by October, a top airport official said on Thursday.

"The airport's second runway, which is under construction, will be ready for operations from October 1," the Chief Executive of the airport's operator Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) Hari Marar told reporters here.

The airport, which handled about 26 million passengers in fiscal 2017-18, will also have its second terminal (T2) ready for operations by March 2021.

"The new terminal will add a capacity of handling 25 million passengers per year, together taking the airport's capacity to about 45 million," Marar said.

A total of Rs 13,000-crore is being invested in the expansion of the airport, including the building of the second runway, new terminal and other infrastructure.

Of the total investment Rs 13,000-crore, 80 per cent was borrowed and 20 per cent through internal accruals, Marar said.

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) in October last year won the order to build the new terminal.

With the expansion of the airport, BIAL, which employs 20,000 employees currently, will add another 25,000 staff.

As of December last year, the airport has 49 airlines operating from it, including eight domestic, 28 international and 13 cargo airlines, with an average of 300 arrivals and departures each daily.

--IANS

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