New airport at Kannur to launch commercial operation next year

By Ashraf Padanna/KochiThe fourth international airport in the Indian province of Kerala is expected to begin commercial operations next year, officials have said.“We are expecting the trial landing to take place on December 31 and to launch commercial operations on May 24,” said G Chandramouli, managing director of the Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL).Making a presentation on the progress of the greenfield airport’s construction just 20km from the northern city of Kannur at the Global Non-Resident Keralites (NRK) Meet that concluded here yesterday, he said construction of both the runway and an integrated passenger terminal were moving ahead.The contract for construction of the runway was awarded in 2013 and for the terminal and allied infrastructure last year. Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro won both the contracts.The airport with the biggest landbank in the state expects to handle 1.5mn international passengers in the first year, targeting mainly the Gulf-bound workers presently catered to by state-run Calicut and Mangalore airports with tabletop runways.The “catchment areas” include Mysore and Coorg in Karnataka besides the four northern Kerala districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad and Kozhikode.“There are still two percent shares still unsubscribed in the 16 percent quota earmarked for individual and institutional investors. It offers an excellent opportunity for the diaspora to park their money as we are planning for financial closure soon,” he said.Of the total cost of Rs18.92bn, the Rs8.92bn is financed by three banks through debt while the state government has subscribed 35% of the Rs10bn equity component. The rest of shares are allotted to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and state-controlled entities.“The AAI had agreed to subscribe 26% of shares but later reduced it to 10. The government has taken up the issue with the federal government and we hope to solve the issue soon,” he said.Of the 2050 acres of land earmarked for the project, 1,200 acres are already in its possession while 700 acres acquired by the state’s infrastructure development arm, Kinfra, is being transfered to KIAL.Another patch of 150 acres notified for the project is yet to be acquired. The integrated terminals will be capable of handling 18 flights at a time during peak hours. The airport will have parking facilities for 700 cars and 25 buses.KIAL is in the process of issuing 58,985,000 equity shares with a face value of Rs100 to the shareholders who subscribed through private placement. Pointing out that KIAL has the largest land bank compared to Cochin International Airport’s 1200 acres, Calicut’s 336 acres and Trivandrum’s 600 acres, he said non-aero ventures would be set up in the excess land to contribute to the company’s financials.Yusuffali MA wanted the state government to create more investment opportunities for the NRKs to ensure a regular income after retirement while CK Menon suggested liaison offices headed by retired bureaucrats in all the districts.Doha-based Menon also offered to bear the cost of setting up such liaison offices in all the 14 districts.Ravi Pillai, another prominent NRI businessman, warned the state to be prepared for a possible exodus of workers from the Gulf countries in case of an economic meltdown.MM Hassan, the former minister for the diaspora who hosted the first NRK meet in 2002, said the federal decision to allow the diaspora to vote in absentia would make a huge difference in the electoral outcome in Kerala.“You are going to be a big political force here, influencing the state’s policies and budget allocations,” he said, demanding proportional share of huge amount of money collected by the federal government from the migrants from the state.