Aranmula airport work to commence next week

By Ashraf Padanna/Kochi

Work on KGS Aranmula International Airport, the first airport in India to be fully controlled and operated by a private company, will commence next week and the first flight would take off early next year,  company officials said.

The state cabinet has accorded clearance for the airport in the central Kerala district of Pathanamthitta which aims to cater to non-resident Indians and tourists heading for the state’s backwaters and hill stations.

The state government will hold 10% equity in the airport company, modalities of which is being worked out.

This would be the fourth international airport in the southern state heavily dependent on tourism and overseas remittances for economic sustenance.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) owns and operates two airports (Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut) while the state government, though a minority stakeholder, controls Cochin International Airport, India’s first corporate airport.

Another international airport is coming up in the northern district of Kannur on the Cochin model, which is directly monitored by Prime Minister’s Office.

The proposed airport at Aranmula is coming up about 110kms from Thiruvananthapuram. The Sabarimala temple is located 30kms from the project site.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) accorded clearance to the project last September.

Executive director of the KGS Aranmula International Airport Ltd, Dr P T Nandakumar, said Anil Ambani’s Reliance group holds 15% stake in the company promoted by three individuals. The construction of the airport, which now has all the mandatory clearances, would start soon and the first flight would take off early next year.

“With the state clearing the investment proposal it has now become another PPP (public- private-partnership) project,” Nandakumar said denying reports that the company would offer ‘sweat equity’ to the government.

The government nominee would also be chairman of the company. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs20bn which would be financed in a debt equity ratio of 2:1 and the paid up capital is set at Rs7bn.

Nandakumar said the company had already lined up funding and no more equity partners were needed. The airport, capable of handling aircraft like Airbus A-320 and Boeing 747, is coming up on 700 acres. It will have a runway length of 3,100 meters and the terminal building is designed to handle 1,000 passengers at a time.