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Journalism of Courage
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad
Hyderabad
Anubhuti Vishnoi
TILL recently this was an expanse of 5,495 acres of undulating land marked with hillocks. Today, it is the gleaming glass faccedil;ade of Hyderabad8217;s new international airport, 25 km away from the existing Begumpet airport. About 63,500 cubic metres of reinforced cement concrete, 10,000 metric tonnes of reinforcement steel, 20,000 sq metres of glass, 13,500 sq m of metal cladding and 1,35,00 sq mt of formwork have been layered over each other painstakingly by more than 10,000 engineers, consultants, contractors, managers and labourers to create India8217;s first greenfield airport one that is built from scratch on greenfield land, entirely through a public-private partnership.
Barely a week from the landing of the first commercial flight8212;a Lufthansa on midnight of March 168212;the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport looks like an airport caught in a hurry. Mounds of mud dot the road to the airport being extensively landscaped, palm trees are being planted along the avenue leading to the massive integrated terminal8217;s entry, earthmovers, cranes, labourers8212;everyone is running against time while an iconic 75-mt Air Control Traffic tower lords over it all.
Inside the integrated terminal, 8,500 people are working round the clock8212;the retail and duty-free shopping sections are being done up block by block, eateries Hard Rock Cafeacute;, Bollywood Bar and Hyderabadi Biryani from the famous Paradise are gearing up for the big day, while night drills, commissioning drills, airport readiness checks and surprise drills keep the staff at the airport on its toes.
A 360-degree zoom-in at the airport reminds you of JFK or may be Heathrow or8230;it8217;s just probably the strong swanky international accent that runs through the terminal area. All matte steel and glass with a ceiling that lets in ample natural light, an entrance overarched by a white tensile roof, an internal garden a la Singapore8217;s Changi airport with creepers climbing up the walls between conveyer belts, an inline baggage checking system which means it8217;s goodbye to the X Ray baggage check system8212;you walk in right to the check in counters and leave your check in baggage there which will go through a four-level inline screening system while you proceed to the boarding area. You8217;ll only have to bother with it again if there is some 8216;offensive8217; or dangerous object found in it. Those with only hand baggage can check in through separate counters and walk in to the boarding area and turn right for international destinations or left for domestic ones.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the airport gets test passengers with baggage for the drills, checking for any deficiencies.
Rajagopal Swami, chief financial officer and company secretary of the airport, is watching it all with 8216;8216;a mixture of feelings8217;8217;.
8220;I saw this place when the ground was not even levelled. It took a year to level the surface by some 1,000 men on earthmovers and road rollers. So there is nostalgia, a huge amount of elation and a lot of nervousness.. There are the weekly drills every Tuesday and Thursday, which are looking good8230;the CISF is also set to take over. The passengers as they step in here will be surprised at the variety on offer. We have ensured it8217;s no less than Singapore8217;s Changi airport, so expect the best,8221; says Swami.
With the longest runway in the country at 4,260m, a taxiway just as long and capable of doubling up as a runway in emergency, the new airport is capable of comfortably hosting the mega machine A320 besides 12 million passengers per annum and 100,000 metric tonnes of cargo in its first phase.. It will open this month to eight domestic airlines and 11 international airlines connecting it to 35 destinations.
8220;On March 16 when we open to commercial operations we hope to receive some 25,000 passengers,8221; adds Swami.
With 130 check in counters, 12 self check-in kiosks and 46 immigration counters, the terminal facing a car part that can accommodate 3,700 vehicles, attached with a 308-room business hotel and 42 aircraft parking slots on the airside and a single entry area for domestic and international passengers, a 8216;quiet airport8217; concept with least possible announcements, 12 aerobridges connected to boarding area, seating for 3,200 passengers per hour, separate kids-only washrooms and 3,400 sq m of duty free shopping walkthroughs, GMR promises users will feel the difference when they enter this Rs 2,478 crore airport. The only thing missing probably is the local flavour but officials assure that six months down the airport will look every bit a 8216;Hyderabadi8217; airport even with its strong international stamp.
The airport has been created through a public-private joint venture between GMR Group, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, the state Government of Andhra Pradesh and Airports Authority of India AAI. GMR Group holds 63 per cent of the equity, MAHB 11 per cent, while the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Airports Authority of India each hold 13 per cent. All parties claim this one is India8217;s sure shot entry ticket into the snazzy world of international style airports.
Its phase II will start only once the growth figure of 17-18 million passenger per annum is reached and then a 8216;mirror image8217; of the existing airport will be created at the same site just opposite this terminal with a second runway and passenger terminal building. Meanwhile, GMR is planning a rail link to the airport that will come up over another three to four years.
8216;8217;I know the new airport will be far but I am sure it will also be far better than the one I have to use almost every second week for my office trips to Mumbai. I am sure looking forward to a more international airport,8217;8217; says Shamli Gupta, a Hyderabad resident.
It8217;s easy to understand why Gupta will go that extra mile to Shamshabad only when we check in at the existing Begumpet airport for the morning flight back to Delhi. Its cramped terminal, inadequate seating, crowded check-in and ugly washrooms suddenly seem far more obsolete than usual.
The Airport Authority Employees Union has already raised protests over the plan to close the existing airport as per the concession agreement and have threatened a crippling strike soon. Besides, the Parliamentary Standing committee on Transport, Tourism 038; Culture has thrown its weight behind the unions recommending that the existing airport be kept opened and the deal with the concessionaire be renegotiated.
With all round criticism on the proposal to impose a User Development Fee UDF for additional facilities at the airport, GMR has given in finally agreeing to charge only international passengers with a UDF of 25 each.
8220;Not charging UDF on domestic passengers will have an impact. Break even for the project will therefore be pushed behind a little further due to this,8217;8217; says GMR Group8217;s airport Chairman Kiran Kumar Grandhi.
The new airport, built some 25 km off the main city, is still not as accessible as it was planned to be. It takes nearly 75 minutes from near the existing airport to the new one. 8220;We have our hopes pinned on the 11-km long expressway which is not yet ready. That will reduce travel time between the city and the airport to 30 minutes or so,8221; Grandhi adds.
Bengaluru International Airport
johnson ta
WHEN frequent flyers compare notes on favourite airport experiences, names like Changi, Frankfurt and Heathrow crop up repeatedly. References to Indian airports like Bangalore8217;s long-standing HAL Airport are often greeted with mutters about 8220;glorified bus stands8221;.
But the new international airport in Bangalore, modelled on the Zurich Airport in Switzerland and christened the Bengaluru International Airport, promises to make the Indian airport experience truly international when it opens for flights on March 30.
The new airport project to be built under a public-private partnership and will replace the HAL airport as the service point for all commercial flights in and out of Bangalore.
In keeping with the Swiss-German identity of two major private investors in the Rs 2,470 crore project8212;Unique Zurich Airport and Siemens Project Ventures8212;the Bengaluru International Airport is a modern airport that is less swank and more functional.
The terminal building of the new airport with its clean-cut lines and roomy feel promises passengers swing door transition between domestic and international flights8212;both terminals are located under one roof. The commercial airport will also be among the first in the country to provide hotel facilities within walking distance of the terminal building.
Bangalore International Airport Ltd, the public-private company that built the new airport, describes it as 8216;8216;an airport that stands for the new modern and international India, proud of its culture and history, but part of the global economy8217;8217;.
BIAL has chosen the Oberoi Group to operate an international hotel under the Trident Hilton brand at the airport. 8216;8216;This truly will be the first airport hotel in India within walking distance of the terminal building,8217;8217; say BIAL officials. A shopping mall, tax-free shops and food courts are other experiences on offer.
While the Civil Aviation Ministry has, through the construction phase, criticised the 8216;8216;factory like feel8221;, 8216;8216;clinical8217;8217; and 8216;8216;rectilinear8217;8217; nature of the new airport, officials of the Karnataka Government have found a close resemblance to the Zurich Airport.
Much of the greyness seen in the airport during a Civil Aviation Ministry inspection in June 2007 has been toned down on the advice of the ministry.
BIAL began construction for project located on 3,900 acres in north Bangalore, 37 km from the city8217;s centre, on July 2, 2005 and has taken 33 months to complete it.
The shareholders agreement on the project was signed in January 2002. Financial closure was achieved in June 2005.
Since the ride from Bangalore to the new airport is not smooth yet, there are many demands for retaining Bangalore8217;s existing HAL airport, which is the fourth largest in the country.
BIAL and state government officials say infrastructure for smooth access to the new airport will be in place by the time the airport officially opens on March 30. 8220;When infrastructure is in place, the commute between the new airport and Bangalore will ideally take about one hour or less. It takes nearly 90 minutes to get to the existing airport from the heart of Bangalore at present,8217;8217; says a senior state government official attached to the new airport project.
The new airport, built to handle 11 million passengers annually, can accommodate movement of 30 aircraft including landing and take-off per hour. When the airport opens, the aircraft movement is expected to be 440 in 24 hours. The airport can be scaled up to service approximately 50 million passengers a year, say BIAL officials.
Areas of turbulence
The Bangalore airport has refused to do away with the User Development Fee UDF for domestic passengers and has instead proposed a reduced user development fee of Rs 240 plus taxes for domestic passengers and Rs 520 plus taxes for international passengers until May 31. Subsequently, the fee will be as per the concession agreement:
Rs 675 plus taxes for domestic passenger and Rs 955 plus taxes for international passengers.
Distance will be the other hiccup. The new airport is considerably away from the city.
Passengers will have to spend more money and time to get to the new airport.
