Airport hotel remains a distant reality

It was to be the country’s first airport hotel where weary passengers suffering from jet lag could check in after alighting at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA).

But now, almost five years after the airport commenced operations, this airport hotel, which was supposed to be within walking distance from the airport’s terminal building, is yet to materialise.

While other international airports in the country, like the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, and the Cochin International Airport are operating airport hotels, the proposed one at BIA is still in the construction stage.

In 2006, when the BIA was still under construction, the Oberoi Group (EIH Limited) and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) had jointly bid for developing and operating a 321-room luxury hotel, edging out competitors such as the Accor Group and Emaar-MGF. The five-star hotel to be developed at a cost of Rs250 crore was to open in November 2008, five months after the BIA’s inauguration.

A special-purpose vehicle was also formed by L&T and EIH Limited. However, later the two joint venture partners decided to terminate the joint venture by transfer of the shareholding to a prospective buyer.

When DNA contacted the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) for an update on the status of the airport hotel, the BIAL said it does not speak on behalf of the airport partners.

On the other hand, L&T refrained from commenting on the status of the hotel.
An L&T official who was part of the airport hotel project but did not want to be named said the construction work on the hotel site had come to a standstill.

He asserted that the hotel project was not abandoned altogether.

@hemanth _cs