Bengaluru Airport City to get Rs 1,800-cr convention centre, hospitality hub

Bengaluru: As part of the Airport City project, Bengaluru Airport City Ltd (BACL) will build an integrated commercial space on the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) premises. The space will be handed over to Prestige Group, which will invest around Rs 1,800 crore for its development.The 6.2 lakh-square-foot space will include a convention centre that can accommodate 8,000 people at a time. Designed as a business, hospitality and cultural hub by UK firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, the development will include two luxury hotels and a premium office space as well. With work set to begin in early 2027, the project, once completed in 2031, is expected to host international conferences, exhibitions, corporate events and cultural gatherings.The site lies close to Yethiganahalli lake, around 5km from the trumpet interchange that connects the airport to Bengaluru city. It will also be close to the Airport City Metro station, which will be part of the Blue Line connecting Silkboard.With around 1,200 rooms in the airport area at present, BACL believes that this project will increase the capacity by 300-500 rooms. “This is just the beginning of the explosion of real estate and economic development in the northern part of the city. In the long run, we see demand for both office spaces and hospitality going up exponentially,” explained Hari Marar, managing director, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL).He added that apart from 15-18 million square feet of office space within the airport campus, there is a huge potential for 4,500-5,200 hotel rooms. Of 450 acres under the Airport City project, 110 acres are already developed or are under development. About 70 acres of this space have been taken over by Air India and IndiGo for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO). “Between these two MROs, they have the capability of handling 20 and servicing 29 aircraft simultaneously, which makes it probably the largest MRO hub in Asia,” Marar said.A cloud kitchen being operated by SATS within the Airport City produces 1.4 lakh meals a day. Officials also added that a 775-room hotel will open in Dec this year, along with a 20 lakh-square-foot office space later this year. A concert arena will open by June next year, with a medical district set to be ready in the next three years.