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Changi Airport inks technical pact with Bengal Aerotropolis for Durgapur airport project

Joy Roy Choudhury - Kolkata

Singapore's Changi Airport International (CAI) will make its maiden foray into an aviation project in India as a technical partner for the proposed greenfield airport at Ondal near the industrial town of Durgapur in the Burdwan district of West Bengal.

CAI signed a Technical Services Agreement (TSA) with Bengal Aerotropolis Projects for the country's first privately owned airport. The TSA was signed in Kolkata in the presence of Praful Patel, the Union Civil Aviation Minister.

Under the technical services agreement, CAI will play a key role in preparing the master plan of the proposed airport and supervise the execution of the same.

"The master plan is very important. We will also supervise airport capacity, land-use plan, passenger terminal layout and other infrastructure facilities," said Eugene Gan, senior vice-president (worldwide operations), CAI.

CAI will first carry out a detailed review of the proposed airport including a review of the airport capacity, land use plan, passenger terminal layout and development phasing of the air and landside of the airport.

The agreement also involves CAI in conducting training for senior management of BAPL personnel at the Singapore Aviation Academy. The training programs are targeted at introducing senior managers at BAPL to the technical aspects of developing and managing an airport terminal intended to spawn an aerotropolis. "Training will be imparted to the airport's senior managers on terminal management," Gan added.

The total land area earmarked for the Durgapur Aerotropolis project is approximately 2,300 acres of which around 700 acres will be utilised for the airport. An industrial park and a township with all amenities like schools, colleges, shopping malls and healthcare facilities will come up on the remaining land area. "The first phase will be built at a cost of Rs 150 crore. However, with CAI involved, the cost can be revised," said Partha Ghosh, director, Bengal Aerotropolis Projects, the developer.

Commenting on the alliance, Chow Kok Fong, chief executive officer, CAI said, "We believe this will be a promising project which will complement the capacity of the existing aviation infrastructure in West Bengal. We expect the Durgapur Aerotropolis to generate considerable economic momentum for this important region of the country."

Officials of the company hinted that CAI, which has been involved in developing over 40 airports worldwide, might formally enter into a joint venture for the project at a later stage. The airport is expected to be functional in the next two and half to three years and will have the ability to handle A-320 aircraft. The total investment of the project is around Rs 10,000 crore and the project is expected to be completed in five years.

Meanwhile, the minister for civil aviation has rejected the possibility of setting up a 'third runway' at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas International Airport.

Patel also announced that the 'delayed' modernisation work of the Kolkata Airport would begin in April. Earlier, it was slated to begin in January this year. Experts feel that the airport modernisation will lose much of its utility without the third runway because of the resultant congestion. By 2010, when the modernisation is expected to be complete, the number of flights using the airport is expected to grow four-fold.

The minister's announcement signalled a reversal of his earlier stand that instead of a second greenfield airport in the city, Kolkata airport should have a third-runway.