Limited airspace concerns plague Bengaluru's second airport plan: Report
Bengaluru: As plans for the construction of Bengaluru's second airport progress, the state government faces significant concerns regarding the limited availability of airspace, according to a recent report by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The report, cited by Deccan Herald on Tuesday, on the upcoming airport highlights that the “aircraft movement will be constrained due to restricted airspace” at all three sites proposed by the government.
These include two adjacent land parcels on Kanakapura Road near Harohalli, measuring 4,800 and 5,000 acres, and a 5,200-acre site on Kunigal Road near Nelamangala.
“Bengaluru has too many establishments that have already established their claim over the airspace in the city. About half of Bengaluru’s airspace is under the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), almost going up to Coimbatore. In the north, it all comes under the air force station at Yelahanka. Their airspace apparently extends up to Hassan. So now, we have to specifically earmark airspace for the second airport,” DH quoted a senior official from the industries ministry as saying.
This problem is not unique to the second airport project. Similar airspace concerns had arisen during the establishment of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
For the proposed Kanakapura sites, the instrument flight procedures (IFPs) will depend on IFPs at HAL airport and TAAL airport in Hosur. In contrast, the Nelamangala location would require coordination with IFPs at HAL, IAF-Yelahanka, and KIA.
“We will follow due process with the committee of the defence ministry to get airspace,” DH quoted Industries Minister M.B. Patil as saying.
While the locations near Kanakapura have hills on the eastern and western sides, the Nelamangala location features hills on the north-eastern and western sides. The AAI report also notes that all three proposed sites feature both hard and soft rocky terrain, which will present significant challenges during construction.
These obstacles must be “evaluated to determine whether they pose potential obstacles to safe air navigation. Any hill within the site boundary that is identified as an obstacle will require levelling,” added the report.
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Rupee hits record low of 96.14/USD, settles at fresh closing low of 95.86/USD
Mumbai (PTI): The Indian rupee crashed below the 96/USD mark on Friday before closing at an all-time low of 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar as elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns added to the downside pressure on the rupee.
Rupee has registered over 6 per cent losses so far this year, and in the past six trading sessions, it has depreciated nearly 2 per cent as Iran war risk escalation pushed crude oil prices higher. The dollar index moved northwards after strong US retail sales and stable labour market data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Forex traders said global uncertainties, relatively high valuations, and the lack of AI-led investment opportunities have weighed on capital flows.
Moreover, weak net FDI inflows are likely to exert pressure on the balance of payments, while rising crude oil prices stoke inflation worries.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.86, then slumped to a record low of 96.14 in intraday trade, registering a fall of 50 paise from its previous close.
The USD/INR pair finally settled at 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a fall of 22 paise from its previous close, helped by likely RBI intervention.
On Thursday, the rupee weakened to a fresh record low of 95.96 before closing with a marginal gain of 2 paise at 95.64 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.15, higher by 0.34 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up 3.14 per cent at USD 109.04 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 160.73 points to settle at 75,237.99, while Nifty declined 46.10 points to 23,643.50.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the country's exports in April rose by 13.78 per cent to USD 43.56 billion despite global challenges, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday.
Imports grew 10 per cent year-on-year to USD 71.94 billion in April. The trade deficit during the month stood at USD 28.38 billion.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns. Strong dollar and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee. However, any intervention by the RBI and hiking of import duty on gold and silver may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.60 to 96.20," said Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday hailed their talks as "historic" and "landmark", as the American leader wrapped up his three-day visit on a high note, but no deals on any contentious issues were announced.
Both Presidents, who held several rounds of talks covering a range of global issues, including the Iran war and bilateral trade frictions, concluded their discussions with a private meeting at Zhongnanhai, the well-guarded compound in Beijing where top leaders reside.
