In order to keep pace with the rapid development of Bangalore as India’s leader in information technology, biotech and the services industry, the Government of Karnataka and the Airport Authority of India initiated a greenfield project for a new international airport north of Bangalore.
This was the first international airport in India built, owned and operated under a public private partnership with private shareholders holding majority stake. During the development stage the Shareholder structure of BIAL comprised Siemens Project Ventures, Unique (Flughafen Zürich AG) – ZurichAirport, Larsen & Toubro, Airport Authority of India and KSIIDC (an agency owned by the state of Karnataka, India).
ejet were appointed as Aviation Fuel Consultant to BIAL and two of the key issues which we advised on in the very early stages were:
- the requirement for an Aviation Fuel hydrant system
- Open Access Aviation Fuel supply (including access to and use of the Aviation Fuel farm, hydrant system and into-plane fuelling facilities) – and how to set up the commercial framework to enable Open Access
Drawing on the unique experience which John Pitts has from the development and operation of the Open Access structure at Hong Kong International Airport, ejet defined the form of Aviation Fuel Facility concession. We then prepared the tender documents to procure the concessionaire to construct the fuel farm and hydrant system, and the operator to operate the fuel farm and hydrant system.
This required quite a lot of technical work to be done in a short timeframe – essentially FEED (Front End Engineering and Design) – including sizing/defining the fuel farm and the complete design of the hydrant system (with 70+ hydrant pits planned) sufficient for tendering. In full we prepared the:
- Business Plan Outline
- Organisational Plan
- Design and Construction Plan (including BIAL’s design and construction requirements)
- Management and Operation of the Facility
- Financial Plan
- Throughput Fee
- Draft concession and operating agreements
and we provided assistance during the tender evaluation process.
ejet were also engaged to prepare the Into-plane Fuelling concession tender to a similar level of detail and to assist with the evaluation process.
The Aviation Fuel facilities include a fuel farm of approx. 10,000 m³ storage capacity, twin DN450 (18 inch diameter) hydrant feeder lines approx. 3 km long each and the hydrant system. Provision for future expansion has facilitated supply to the Airport by pipeline to supercede supply by road tankers.
It was a real pleasure to work on this project because we were hired early in the project so that we could make a beneficial impact, the terms of reference were clear and the client knew what it wanted to achieve from Aviation Fuel at the new airport. Perhaps it is sufficient to say that a tree which John Pitts was invited to plant in the garden of the fuel farm in 2008, like the airport, continues to flourish and is now more than 4 metres high.
Client testimonial
"Although we were starting with a greenfield site for the new airport, John swiftly assessed the requirements for the aviation fuel facilities and defined the best way to obtain a party to construct and operate them. He guided us towards our objective of putting Open Access Fuel Supply in place. His approach was open and very positive, and it was clear that we had an expert on the team. His dedication to the project was extemporary and without hesitation, we would recommend his services."
Ashutosh Chandra, AVP – Real Estate at Bangalore International Airport Ltd.
