Hyd international airport project cost up by Rs 1000cr

The project cost of the Hyderabad International airport has almost gone up by Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,478 crore mostly due to scaling up of the upfront capacity and facilities in line with the new growth trend in passenger traffic.

This additional cost is being completely met through debt.

Putting the project on a fast track so that the commercial operations start in March 2008, five months ahead of the 36-month time frame provided in the concession agreement, the GMR-led consortium had so far spent Rs 1,180 crore, completing 69 per cent of the overall project work.

Explaining about the progress after a media visit to the work site, T Srinagesh, chief operating officer of GHIAL (GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited), said the reworking of the project size to 12 million capacity and subsequent provision of more passenger-side facilities such as extra passenger bays, and scaling up of other infrastructural facilities required most capital cost.

The debt-equity ratio of the project now stands at 2.1:1 with Rs 1,678 crore as debt and Rs 800 crore as equity.

Foreseeing the growth in passenger traffic, the concessionaire had first proposed to scale up the capacity to 7 million from the originally envisaged 5 million passenger capacity in 2005 and then to 12 million subsequently.

Srinagesh said the passenger traffic would continue to grow for a few more years and this may require the company to take up the next phase very soon after the operationalisation of the project.

Last year, passenger traffic in Hyderabad touched 5.95 million with 43 per cent growth over the previous year.

The immediate expansion proposes to increase the passenger handling capacity of the airport to 15 million, while the second phase project would raise the capacity to 20 million.

Glass fittings on the passenger terminal building and laying of final layer on the runway are currently being carried out. Going by the Karnataka government's statement on the date of commencement of operations at the Devanahalli international airport, the Hyderabad facility, work on which started in October 2005, will still be one month ahead of its counterpart.

The GHIAL is currently in talks with 15-20 international airlines and hopes to get all the major international players to launch their services to the city.

Lufthansa and Indian are setting up their MRO facilities at the airport while the company has already entered into concession agreements for cargo operation, flight kitchens, duty-free shops, fuel farm operation and a hotel.

The airport operator will also introduce open access system, first time in the country, at the airport with regard to the fuel requirement of the aircraft, according to Srinagesh.

The company hopes to increase the share of non-aero revenue through the development of 1,000 acres of land available for various commercial operations, including hotels and convention centres.