Work on Rs. 800 crore terminal at Cochin Airport to begin

[jarves]

Work on Rs 800 crore terminal at Cochin Airport to begin | NDTV.com



South | Press Trust of India | Updated: January 31, 2014 23:41 IST


Kochi, Kerala: 800-crore terminal at Cochin International Airport Ltd would begin tomorrow in the biggest expansion since it started operations in 1999.

The Kerala Chief Minister will lay the foundation stone for the world-class terminal tomorrow.

The development comes a day ahead of the work on the fourth international airport in the state at Kannur kicking off on February 2.

"Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will lay the foundation stone for the new international terminal tomorrow and the work construction will begin on the same day.

"The new terminal is likely to be opened to the public in two-and-a-half years. We are investing over crore for the terminal," Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) Managing Director V J Kurien told PTI from Cochin today.

The other projects, involving over 200 crore investments, are the second phase of the CIAL would include a golf course, a solar power unit, a duty-free warehousing complex, a golf academy, an aviation safety training institute, and an integrated airport management system, he said.

For the Cochin airport, this 1,000-crore ambitious plan marks its biggest expansion since it began operations in 1999 as the first greenfield airport in the public-private partnership model.

The new terminal will have three-times more built-up area of 15 lakh sq ft with 15 aerobridges that can handle a peak hour capacity of up to 4,000 passengers or 10 million passengers annually, Kurien said.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister A K Antony will lay the foundation stone for Kerala's fourth international airport at Kannur, a multi-party joint venture on Sunday. The first phase of the project involves and investment of 1,590 crore.

The government will hold 35 per cent in the airport, Airports Authority 26 per cent, oil major BPCL will have 23 per cent and the rest will be held by private sector, including Federal Bank and NRI businessman M A Yusuf Ali, would hold 5 per cent stake each and the remaining 5 per cent would be given to NRK groups.

The new international airport is expected to be ready in 2015. Kerala already has three airports in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kochi a fifth one is planned to come up at Aranmulla in Pathanamthitta district in central Kerala.

The new Kochi airport terminal will help the airport, set up way back in 1999 under a PPP model with investments individual public, mostly from non-resident Keralites, to keep pace with its increasing passenger traffic that is growing by 12-13 per cent, Kurien added.

 

[SpArK]

Antony to open Kannur airport work tomorrow

Gulf-based businessman Yusuffali M A will acquire a substantial stake in the Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL), which is building Kerala’s fourth international airport in the northern city of Kannur.

Together with the Federal Bank, in which he holds a 4.47% stake, the founder of the $5.1bn LuLu Group will be allotted 5% shares.

Yusuffali is also the single largest individual shareholder and one of the directors of the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), which runs India’s first corporate airport in the southern Indian state.

He also holds stake in other Kerala-based banks, Catholic Syrian Bank and Dhanalakshmi Bank, besides running India’s largest retail and leisure mall under his flagship LuLu brand in the port city of Kochi.

KIAL has also decided to offer another 5% to retail investors living abroad. However, response so far has been lukewarm unlike the case of CIAL which has more than 10,000 investors from 30 countries.

Though the project received the federal clearance in 2008, it was delayed due to opposition to individual investors seeking bulk shares.

The total number of shares in KIAL is 36,624,204 and total paid-up capital received so far is Rs2.3bn.

Defence minister A K Antony will formally flag off the its runway’s construction tomorrow.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro has already started work on the runway, taxiway, apron and other related infrastructure.

“Of the 16% shares earmarked for the public, 6% have been sold out while Yusuffali and the Federal Bank together were ready to subscribe 5%. The remaining 5% will be offered to the diaspora,” said K Babu, the southern state’s aviation minister who is also one of its directors.

The state government holds 35% stake in the firm converting its landholding into equity while Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and other public sector entities have subscribed to 23% stake.

The Airport Authority of India has decided to acquire 26% stake which will be announced by K C Venugopal, India’s junior aviation minister, at the inaugural ceremony to be presided over by Oommen Chandy, the state’s chief minister.

The outlay for the first phase is estimated at Rs15.9bn while the authorised equity capital is Rs10bn.

The cost of land, converted into equity, was fixed at Rs2.94bn. The remaining part will be raised through debt. “We intend to achieve financial closure by the end of March,” the minister said.

“We need to take a loan of Rs9bn this year and the banks have offered cash at an interest rate of 10.5%. We are weighing the options”.

Work on the passenger terminal, air traffic control tower and administrative block will begin in April-May and completed the next year.

 

[Abingdonboy]

The speed of the transformation of India's airports is simply mind blowing!

 

[gslv mk3]

The speed of the transformation of India's airports is simply mind blowing!

Check out under construction airport at Kannur (Kerala ),its hardly a tier 3 city!!

 

[Abingdonboy]

Check out under construction airport at Kannur (Kerala ),its hardly a tier 3 city!!

Wow, simply wow! For such a tiny city!

 

[Indo-guy]

Check out under construction airport at Kannur (Kerala ),its hardly a tier 3 city!!

Isn't this simple wastage of resources ???

In a resource limited country like India , we need to manage our money more effectively ...

while our primary Health and primary education system is non existent ....why we are wasting our money on this ???

The speed of the transformation of India's airports is simply mind blowing!

I can only but smell corruption ...

I hope the same would have been case while building Primary Health Centers and schools ...But I guess there are no lot of pay offs for middle men in building PHCs and schools ....

 

[Manvantaratruti]

Isn't this simple wastage of resources ???
In a resource limited country like India , we need to manage our money more effectively ...
while our primary Health and primary education system is non existent ....why we are wasting our money on this ???
I can only but smell corruption ...
I hope the same would have been case while building Primary Health Centers and schools ...But I guess there are no lot of pay offs for middle men in building PHCs and schools ....

Kerala economy is run by "GELF" expats and Tourists. It needs more airports than railway stations . There is no local economy except for selling Alcohol .

 

[kaykay]

Good. Even in Vadodara, a new terminal is being built which is about to be completed. It will handle international flights after that too from just domestic flights now. I will appreciate if someone post pics/plan of vadodara's new(under construction) terminal.

 

[Indo-guy]

Kerala economy is run by "GELF" expats and Tourists. It needs more airports than railway stations . There is no local economy except for selling Alcohol .

are you suggesting that Kerala does not require hospitals and schools because economy is run by expats and tourists ?

that need for basic amenities of education and health are superseded by needs of having airports in small cities like Kannur ???

 

[Victory]

soon India would be known for its stunning airports

 

[kbd-raaf]

are you suggesting that Kerala does not require hospitals and schools because economy is run by expats and tourists ?

that need for basic amenities of education and health are superseded by needs of having airports in small cities like Kannur ???

You're right. Amenities etc are definitely required. But private institutions are not going to invest in them, there is no profit there.

The Government needs to do that, Central or State.

 

[Manvantaratruti]

are you suggesting that Kerala does not require hospitals and schools because economy is run by expats and tourists ?

that need for basic amenities of education and health are superseded by needs of having airports in small cities like Kannur ???

Kerala has one of the BEST indicators of health and education in India. They are far more advanced than "basic amenities" and reach everybody. You are confusing it with Bihar.

So yes, Kannur needs a Airport and it will most certainly be more beneficial.

 

[Koovie]

Isn't this simple wastage of resources ???

In a resource limited country like India , we need to manage our money more effectively ...

while our primary Health and primary education system is non existent ....why we are wasting our money on this ???

1.) This is a private airport. The government of Kerala is not holding the bulk of the financial costs.

2.) Infrastructure is much needed here, getting from Kannur to Cochin is a pain in the a**

3.) Kerala is an almost fully literate state with an HDI comparable to developed nations, you cannot travel far without encountering schools and hospitals.

OT.: Awesome development! Cannot wait for our new terminal in Kochi, the current terminal is already completely overfilled.

 

[egodoc222]

are you suggesting that Kerala does not require hospitals and schools because economy is run by expats and tourists ?

that need for basic amenities of education and health are superseded by needs of having airports in small cities like Kannur ???

primary health care in kerala by faar best in india...and the indicators speak for themselves...
i love these mallus!!!

 

[Indo-guy]

1.) This is a private airport. The government of Kerala is not holding the bulk of the financial costs.

2.) Infrastructure is much needed here, getting from Kannur to Cochin is a pain in the a**

3.) Kerala is an almost fully literate state with an HDI comparable to developed nations, you cannot travel far without encountering schools and hospitals.

OT.: Awesome development! Cannot wait for our new terminal in Kochi, the current terminal is already completely overfilled.

such humongous investment won't come without governmental facilitation ...

how much precious tax payers money has been lost in form of various waivers given for this project only God knows ???

Nothing can be entirely private ....when project of this nature is concerned .

I am not against building airports ... or any infrastructure for that matter .

question is whether a city like Kannur needs airport with 800 crores tag or it could have done with less swanky air port at lesser cost ???

Resources are always limited no matter how developed a country or region may be !!!