Advertisement

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which is developing the new airport at Shamshabad (near Hyderabad), is raising Rs 718 crore for creating additional facilities at the airport, fuel tanks and a business hotel.

The company has tied up funds from three banks: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank will provide a dollar loan for Rs 518 crore while two Indian banks, Andhra Bank and Vijaya Bank, will provide rupee term loans of Rs 200 crore.

Extra amenities would include more parking bays, rapid taxiways, additional office space for airlines, extra cargo space, additional car parking, immigration, self-check-in kiosks, bus lounges and security equipment.

The company had initially planned to handle 7 million passengers but decided to augment capacity to 12 million passengers per annum in view of the tremendous growth in air traffic from Hyderabad in the last few years.

As a result, the total project cost has gone up to Rs 2,478 crore from the earlier estimated figure of Rs 1,760 crore, which has been approved by the company's board of directors. The company will start repaying the dollar after two years of starting operations; the new loans will be repaid over 14 years.

Work on the new airport is progressing at a rapid pace and the airport would take-off as per schedule in March 2008, said GHIAL COO T Srinagesh, in a media statement.