Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), operator of Kempegowda International Airport-Bengaluru, plans to achieve financial closure for its ₹13,000 crore second-phase expansion plan by January-end.

“The company is going in for debt-equity in the ratio of 80:20. For the debt component, we are getting commitments from banks and other institutions in excess of our requirement,” Hari Marar, Managing Director & CEO, BIAL, told reporters.

“For the equity contribution, company is ploughing back 92 per cent of all its earnings. Only two years in the last 10 years, we have paid dividend to our promoters. All this while, it was retained with the commitment to fund future expansion plans,” he added. The airport has 70:30 aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue and has a CAGR of 12 per cent. Once the expansion is completed, it is expected to touch a CAGR of 13.5 per cent.

“The airport handled nine million passengers in 2008 and 27 million in 2018. We expect to triple in the next 10 years to touch 80 million passengers and be as big as London Heathrow,” said Marar.

“When the second-phase expansion is completed in 2021, BIAL will be employing around 40,000 people directly and indirectly.”

“Over the last 10 years, the airport has evolved as the gateway to South India and with the next phase of expansion, our aim is to position it as the gateway to a new India. Once ready in 2021, the airport will offer passengers seamless experiences, powered by cutting-edge technology,” Marar said.

Bhaskar Anand Rao, Chief Financial Officer, BIAL, said the expansion is expected to boost connectivity and improve movement of goods of the State and provide the much-needed capacity that a growing city like Bengaluru needs.

Tom Shimmin, Chief Project Officer, BIAL, said, “Designed to provide the highest level of passenger comfort and dramatic visual impression, the new terminal will substantially increase the overall capacity of the airport.”