Keep HAL airport open: AAI

Can BIAL oppose the hand which feeds it. ? Just as BIAL used legal recourse to close the HAL airport AAI is now paying back BIAL in the same coin. Legally AAI or the government cannot open HAL unless BIAL is made to offer concessions . Using this newly found data they can turn on the screws on BIAL and Alfred Bruneer who is acting like the most incompetent Swiss national ever to set foot in India. Its about time the Devanhalli speculators exit. If they wait for HAL to open thats the end of all their paper profits and they would be stuck with illquid assets for years to come.

Keep HAL airport open: AAI
Recommends Move Till BIA Builds Additional Terminal
Anshul Dhamija & Sujit John | TNN

Bangalore: The new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) has landed in a turbulent whirlwind with the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The AAI has prepared a report that says that BIA’s capacity is less than what its promoters have stated, that the airport is already saturated, and that the promoters have violated a key clause in the concession agreement signed with the government. It has gone on to recommend that the old HAL airport be kept open till BIA builds an additional terminal.
The AAI report, a copy of which is with The Times of India, follows a directive by the civil aviation minister to study the capacity issues at BIA. The AAI had designated a 4-member team to conduct the study in June.
The report says that the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) must take “immediate action...to create an additional capacity of 10 million passengers per annum to avoid further congestion and to handle the projected growth.” The report goes on to say, “In view of the saturation of the passenger terminal, import cargo, apron and runway, it is recommended that, in the meantime, the existing HAL Airport may be permitted to operate until the time of commissioning of proposed additional capacity at the new Bengaluru International Airport.”
As per AAI’s calculations, the terminal capacity at BIA can only handle 9.78 million passengers annually as against the city’s passenger traffic of 10.12 million passengers in 2007-08. This means that since the day BIA opened on May 24, the airport has been under capacity. BIAL, on the contrary, has claimed that the airport’s capacity is 11.4 million passengers, which could even go up to handle 14 million passengers annually.
As per recommendations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an airport which has to handle passenger traffic of 10 million passengers should have a terminal size of 1,50,000 sqm in area. BIA, according to the AAI report, has a terminal size of barely half that at 71,310 sqm.
The report goes on to state: “BIAL revised its forecast to 11.4 million in November, 2006, for the year 2015 which deviates from the actual traffic drastically. In fact the traffic was growing as high as 43.9% when the revised forecast was made in November 2006.
As per the concession agreement para 14.2 (page-61) BIAL was supposed to provide facilities as per IATA/ICAO standards and was to provide 27.3 sqm of space per peak hour passenger (PHP), whereas the actual area provided is 19.8 sqm per PHP, which is in deviation with the concession agreement.”
As per norms followed by IATA, the capacity of an airport terminal is calculated on the ratio between the total area of an airport terminal to the number of peak hour passengers, which for any airport should be a minimum of 25 sqm/PHP.
In fact the figure of 19.8 sqm/PHP at BIA is way below that of older airports in Chennai and Kolkata which have figures of 23.15 sqm/PHP and 24.15 sqm/PHP respectively. In the new Hyderabad airport terminal, it is estimated to be 35.21 sqm/PHP.
Further,taking the terminal building in its totality,the report states that the “basement area of 18,665 sqm is not used for passenger facilitation, it is used for storage, services and utilities. Therefore, basement area should be excluded from the total terminal area which will reduce area/PHP to 14.6 sqm.”
What AAI report also said
BIA’s peak hour runway capacity is 32 movements as against current peak hour demand of 25. With anticipated annual growth rate of 25%, runway is likely to saturate during 2010-11. Immediate action should be taken for construction of second runway
Existing number of parking bays are 42 as against peak hour demand of 41 bays (26 passenger aircraft, 5 freighter, 10 buffer for contingency). Addition of 30 more bays recommended
There is imbalance between import and export cargo area which needs adjustment, that is import cargo is saturated whereas export cargo and domestic cargo have adequate capacity. It is therefore recommended that an additional import cargo capacity may be created immediately.

Consumer court ruling : Builders must fulfil promises mentioned in brochures

‘Builders must fulfil promises’
Consumer Forum Directs Them To Deliver What Is Shown In Brochures
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: Providing relief to flat owners deprived of amenities by builders, the consumer disputes redressal forum, Pune, in a landmark ruling, has held that a builder will have to provide all the required facilities to a purchaser which he had promised in the brochure.

Even if an agreement between the two parties was silent on providing the amenities, it will be binding on a builder to give facilities which he had promised in the brochure, observed forum president Pradip Gaikwad and member Sulabha Joshi on July 16.
The order was passed on a complaint filed by senior citizen Parshuram Redij of Vijaya Rashmi Residency at Warje Malwadi.
Redij had filed a complaint against M/s Vijaya Rashmi Developers and its partners comprising Marathi actor Ravindra Mahajani of Paud road, Arun Nikam and Harishchandra Nikam, both from Kothrud, for deficiency in service. The firm had published an advertisement in a Marathi daily for undertaking a project at S.No. 43/5 at Warje Malwadi, where it had assured several facilities. Lured by the promises, Redij booked flat no. 4 in the A wing of the building for Rs 6,14,250.
After Redij took possession of the flat on October 30, 1999, he discovered that the promises made by the builder in the brochure that he would construct an internal road, garden, club house, swimming pool and security cabin after the completion of the project were not fulfilled. On various occasions, the senior citizen took up the issue with the firm and its partners. He appealed to them in vain that the needful should be done. Moreover, the flat owners suo moto registered the society by shelling out Rs 75,000.
Arguing in person during the final hearing, Redij alleged that the firm had transferred the development rights to M/s Vaishnavi Shraddha Constructions. He said he had filed a criminal case against the partners, which is pending before the magistrate court here.
Redij appealed to the forum to direct the firm and its partners to execute the sale deed in his favour, provide basic facilities and repay Rs 35,000 as expenditure incurred on registering the society with 18 per cent interest with effect from the date of taking possession of the flat.
On the contrary, the firm had argued that the complaint was barred by the law of limitation and that it had transferred all its rights and liabilities to M/s Vaishnavi Shraddha Constructions. The firm contended that the amenities mentioned in the brochure were not part of the agreement. The forum held that the firm could not be allowed to absolve its liability merely by saying that it had executed a deed of assignment in favour of a third party. The forum further observed that the firm and its partners had induced Redij to purchase the flat on pretext of providing facilities.
The forum directed the firm and the partners to jointly pay Rs 35,000 to Redij with nine per cent interest from October 30, 1999. They were further directed to provide all the facilities mentioned in the brochure and register the conveyance deed and sale deed in his favour as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963. The firm partners have being directed to comply with the order within 3 months.

Sabeer Bhatia's new flop investment

Its been 10 years since Mr Bhatia sold his company to Microsoft but ever since that he's been trying valiantly to build the next sucess story. Unfortunately this new venture like few of his others is a dud from day one. Trying to create a semiconductor fabrication enviroment is easier said then done. Skilled manpower, water, electricty and partnerships with bechtel or similar likes are needed before the groundbreaking crememony. Unfortunately in India lured by the hype of the Sensex and PE firms these morons think they can sucker local Indians into buying apartments in an SEZ mirage. As with other mega deals I expect this one to fail in times to come. Pasvanath has nothing to claim in expetise apart from oiling policiticans and babu's. If this was a sunrise industry Ratan Tata, Premji or the Ambani's would be right at the forefront with solid business plans, not with real estate development hype companies. The ecconomic times press release as usual with no analysis is below


Parsvnath Developers on Wednesday joined hands with Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail, to develop a 11,138 acres knowledge city near Chandigarh, where the company will initially invest Rs 400 crore.

The project, Parsvnath Nano City, valued at Rs 50,000 crore (12 billion dollars), is promoted by the former Hotmail innovator Sabeer Bhatia, whose company holds the majority stake of 52 per cent. The Haryana government holds 10 per cent stake.

"We have already made an investment of Rs 41.5 crore for acquiring 38 per cent stake and the remaining will be invested as debt in future," Parsvnath Developers Chairman Pradeep Jain told reporters here.

To be developed in Panchkula, the project would be completed in two phases over the next 10 years, where the company would develop 5,000 acres in the first phase.

"We have already acquired about 1,500 acres and we are talking to various land owners for acquiring the rest," Jain said.

The realty firm would invest Rs 400 crore initially in the form of equity and debt in the project, he said.

All the stake holders of the project has formed a new entity, Nano City Haryana Ltd, which would raise funds from the capital market within 18-24 month for completing the project.

"We plan to take the company public in 18-24 months, but we have not finalised how much stake will be diluted or how much money we are going to raise," Jain said, adding the company would also dilute some stake to private equity investors.