Bangalore airport's second runway to be operational next year: BIAL

BIAL, the operator of Bangalore international airport, today said the second runway is expected to be operational next year and the new terminal by 2021.

It also announced registering record passenger growth to 26.91 million in the last financial year.

The aerodrome is operated by Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), in which Fairfax holds 54 per cent stake while that of Siemens Projects Ventures is 20 per cent. Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd and Airports Authority of India (AAI) have 13 per cent shareholding each in the venture.

"Work on the second runway and design approvals for Terminal 2 (T2) began in 2017. Construction is scheduled to begin during the middle of 2018, with the second runway operational by 2019 and T2 by 2021," a release issued by BIAL said today.

T2 would be constructed in two phases. In the first phase, the terminal would be able to handle 25 million passengers annually and the capacity would be increased to have 20 million more fliers.

"It is estimated that on completion of both phases of T2, BLR Airport's overall capacity would reach the 65 million mark," it noted.

The airport handled 26.91 million passengers in 2017-18, an increase of 17.6 per cent compared to the year-ago period. It had handled 22.88 million passengers in 2016-17, the release said.

Last financial year, the number of air traffic movements grew 10.8 per cent to 1,97,330 while the cargo handled increased little over 9 per cent to 3,48,403 metric tonnes.

According to the release, the airport witnessed the highest ever passenger movement on February 19, 2018 with a record 91,339 travellers passing through the aerodrome on a single day, the release said.

"2017-18 was a significant year for the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru as we saw robust growth in both passenger traffic, air traffic and cargo throughput, resulting in record numbers," BIAL Managing Director and CEO Hari Marar said.