Skip to main content

Is Bangalore's International Airport Jinxed?


BIAL Project Inception: 1991
Current Status, 2007 : 16 years later report says there are 'Flaws in Bangalore Airport Design'
Verdict : Can we have a law against morons please?

We Bangaloreans have pulled all the petals from the proverbial flower in a desparate attempt to know if we will have our International Airport or not.

Going by today's newspapers looks like we have a long wait before the Airport see's daylight. For today the Times of India reports that the Bangalore Airport design is flawed.
As per the reports there is a structural design flaw as it shows three sides of the terminal's building below ground level. While the Bangalore Airport has been stalled, Hyderabad's International Aiport has been given the green signal.

The Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BAIL) has been one most awaited projects since when it was conceived in 1991. Announced with much fanfare, a lot of promises were made.
To be built at the cost of Rs 1,334 crore [$288 million] the airport was supposed to be modelled on the Zurich one, known for being the most efficient airport in Europe.

The features promised on paper was -
- Domestic arrival : Ground floor
- International arrival : Swing gate walk on second floor
- Domestic and International departure : First floor
- Baggage handling and claim : Ground floor
- Large upmarket shopping areas
- Multi cuisine restaurants
- Play areas and day care centres

Source

Around the same time the Kerala government decided to get an International Airport built at Cochin too. Today the International Airport at Kochi is one of the country's youngest Airports with modern facilities and is currently the fourth busiest airport in India in terms of international traffic (2.5 million passengers including domestic and international for 2006-2007. Bangalore International Airport for that matter has never taken off.


The funniest bit has been saved for the last.
Visit Bangalore Aiport website and there is a small flash banner stating that there are only 308 days to go for the Airport opening. What a laugh.

Despite having two ground-breaking or Bhoomi puja ceremony's, several prominent leaders like Narayana Murthy (Infosys) on the panel and international airport design companies the project seems to head nowhere. Is the International Airport project jinxed?
Labels:

Comments

Shree said…
Sure looks like it is jinxed..tell u what..its going to be a competition..between the airport and the approach highway...over which is going to get done the last..its a laugh..I just came back from KL and the airport is heaven..period! I rest my case..
Tuesday, 29 May, 2007
Shree said…
PS Why havent I seen you on my page yet?????
Tuesday, 29 May, 2007
Shree said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Thursday, 31 May, 2007
Shree said…
Thank u, kind lady ..for leaving behind your footprints in my page..look forward to seeing lots more of 'em in the future :)
Thursday, 31 May, 2007
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why boredom must be a necessary part of childhood

"I am bored....I AM BORED...." - And that is a sentence most often used by children and one that terrorizes almost all parents. Come summer and every parent, working or non-working, draw a big face, sighing how hard their lives are going to turn. I am not judging anyone for I find myself on the very same boat. My son wakes by 7:00 a.m and by 9:30 he has done painting, played with his play-doh, blocks and lego set are scattered, the toy train-set has been assembled, played with and now thrown in disarray. He promptly comes to me saying, "I am bored!". And I watch in dismay thinking my morning has just started! The maids are yet to come, breakfast has just been made, the kitchen counter has to be cleared, laundry is stacking and am yet to enjoy a peaceful cup of coffee. Add siblings into the picture and you can be assured of further chaos, screams and squabbles. Screaming - mostly yours. Most parents find a quick and easy solution to this - Summer Camps. Pack ...
7 comments
Read more

Malayalam vs Tamil Cinema

Having been homebound for sometime now and with enough clutter in the TV channels,watching movies suddenly has became very appealing. But I have to confess that am no longer in the rampant watch-any-movie age where I could digest anything from a Saajan to a Hero No 1 but clearly not also yet there to enjoy a Satyajit Ray or Pedro Almodvar movie.Anyways its regional cinema that I am talking here. All this movie watching started with me giving company to my mom and she restricts her staple of movies to only Tamil and Malayalam films. After a point of time comparison was just bound to follow... Best things first - Malayalam films are quite a revelation. From being funny,melancholic, enchanting, tragic, uplifting to plainly being entertaining the range and depth of malayalam films has simply awed me. And am not even talking here of the well-known, superhit mad capers of Mohanlal or Mamooty that the outside world knows of. Let me confess I dont even understand the language completely....
12 comments
Read more

We Are T20 World Champions!! ....really?

Am overjoyed and as happy as every other cricket loving Indian at India winning the T20 worldcup. It was a nail biting finish and I whooped in joy as the tricolour was paraded proudly around the ground..but all the same it seemed too good to be true. A creepy thought passed my mind - Is this all true or is it part of an elaborate scripted show put up for our benefit? It was like a bad thought or dream that nobody wants to think about but it keeps recurring. Maybe I am just going bonkers. Voice in my head - heck, isn't it too much of a coincidence that the final would have to be between India & Pakistan?...Especially after the world cup debacle, cricket took the biggest beating ever in its Indian history. It was almost on the verge of dying a slow death, sponsors pulling out support , public support was lost. Me - What the hell, it was a great game. Played in front of millions. Voice in my head - Forgot the earlier match fixing tales?. After the world cup fiasco the very foun...
16 comments
Read more