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New airport gets ECB funds for expansion programme
Hyderabad, Mar 9 (UNI) Keeping with the schedule for comissioning the Greenfield international airport by March 2008, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, (GHIAL), today executed financial agreements today for raising Rs 718 crore from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Andhra Bank and Vijaya Bank.
The loans were being raised for setting up additional facilities, common fuel farm and business hotel in the airport. The extra facilities being created, included more aircraft parking stands, rapid exit taxiways, full length parallel taxiway, additional office space for airlines, extra cargo terminal space, additional car parking for passengers and public, extra immigration desks, self-check-in kiosks and bus gate lounges.
The money would also be used to finance installing of additional security equipments for meeting the safety standards of BCAS, a company release said here tonight.
The company had initially planned to handle seven million passengers but decided to increase the capacity to 12 million passengers per annum, keeping in view 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 and it was approved by the Board of Directors last October.
While the rupee term-loan of Rs 200 crore were being extended by Andhra Bank and Vijaya Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank would extend the remaining Rs 518 crore in US dollars in the form of External Commercial Borrowing (ECB). The ECB has a repayment moratorium of two years from the date of commencement of the airport operations, and the repayment schedule was spread over 14 years thereafter.
Speaking
on
the
occasion,
T
Srinagesh,
COO,
GHIAL,
said:
''We
are
happy
to
have
Abu
Dhabi
Commercial
Bank,
Vijaya
Bank
and
Andhra
Bank
on
board
for
funding
the
cost
of
creating
additional
facilities
at
the
new
airport.
The
money
would
be
used
to
achieve
our
business
goal
of
continuously
meeting
the
demands
of
services
for
increased
passenger
growth.''
UNI
