By P. Sreekumaran
A long-standing dream of the people
of North Malabar will become a reality with the inauguration on December 9,
2018 of the Kannur International Airport (KIA).
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and
Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu will formally inaugurate the
airport, built under a public-private partnership (PPP) and Build-Own-Operate
(BOO) basis.
The airport will give a tremendous
boost to the development of the Malabar region with the tourism industry
expected to make a quantum jump. Kannur incidentally accounts for over 80 per
cent of the mangroves in the state. KIA is the fourth international airport and
second greenfield airport in the state.
Kannur is wearing a festive look in
preparation for the historic event. Not only Malayalis but also people from the
neighbouring areas, especially Kasargod, who have to depend on Mangalore
airport at present, are also eagerly awaiting the realization of a
long-standing dream.
A commercial jetliner landed at the
KIA on September 20, 2018 for the first time as part of the flight trials
required under the new airport’s approval process. The new greenfield airport
in South India is set to handle 4.67 million passengers, 39,638 aircraft
movements and 60,758 tonnes of cargo by 2036.
The Kannur International Airport
Limited (KIAL) company was formed by the Government of Kerala to build and
operate the new airport. While private individuals and institutions hold 49%
share in the company, the government has a 26% share; with state-owned public
sector organisations holding 23%.
A firm step towards making Kannur
airport a reality was taken in January 2008 when the Union Cabinet gave its
green signal. The clearance of the Ministry of Environment and Forest came in
July 2013. The new airport will cover about 2,000 acres of land. Around 1,200
acres of land have already been acquired for the project.
Phase one of the construction
involved the construction of a 3,050 m-long runway, taxiways, apron, access
roads, administrative and technical blocks, and other airside construction
works. It will also include the installation and commissioning of the airfield
ground lighting systems, navigation systems, and bird hazard reduction systems.
The apron will feature 14 parking stands.
A car park covering an area of
22,000sqm, a corridor connecting the passenger terminal building to the car
parking area, a sewage treatment system, a hydro-pneumatic system, electrical
substations, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, firefighting systems,
flight information display systems and rainwater harvesting systems are the other
facilities. The airport will be equipped with airport access control systems,
integrated airport management systems, surveillance cameras and tetra wireless
systems.
The airport is ideally located as it
is easily accessible from the Kannur to Mattannur to Mysore road and other
highways, including NH-17, SH-30, and SH-36. A new railway station has been
proposed to be built at the airport.
The inauguration of the Kannur
airport will be a feather in the cap of the Left Democratic Front government
led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. It will erase the erroneous impression
being assiduously created by vested interests that the LDF government is
development-hostile. (IPA Service)
The post All Set For Kannur Airport Inauguration appeared first on Newspack by India Press Agency.
