Kannur airport in 3 years: Chandy

Inaugurates project office of the airport company

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s announcement of a road map for completing the Kannur airport project gave an impression that the project is all set to get off to a good start.

Mr. Chandy said, while inaugurating the project office of the Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL) at Mattannur here on December 6, that the Kannur International Airport project would be completed and the airport operation would start in three years.

He said the construction works for the runway of the airport would begin by March 31, 2013. “The government has prepared a clear road map of the Kannur airport project,” he said, adding the first flight would land in the airport by December 31, 2015. The government’s plan was to complete the project in a time-bound manner, he said, and disclosed that clear instructions were given that the project would be completed as scheduled.

The Chief Minister’s announcement at the public function at Mattannur was greeted with cheers. Observing that infrastructure facilities such as airports would accelerate the overall development of a region, he said often delay in completing projects were the bane of the State.

Indefinite delays in completing projects resulted in cost escalation and denial of facilities those projects envisaged. The airport project report, prepared in 2005, envisaged that the Kannur airport would kick off development of the north Malabar region. The establishment of the Naval Academy at Ezhimla here and the importance of Kannur as a handloom hub and the tourism prospects of the region only enhanced the importance of the airport project, he noted.

Mr. Chandy said the government’s hope was that 783 acres of land to be acquired for the airport in the next phase could be taken over without any hurdle. The land had already been identified, he added.

The Chief Minister also stressed the importance of developing a major road from Kannur to Mattannur. The work for the road should also be completed by the time airport was ready for operation, he said. Seeking the cooperation people’s representatives in ensuring land acquisition for the road, he said the airport project had the support of all people cutting across political differences. The government would take all steps to get all clearances for the airport project, he assured.

Minister for Ports K. Babu presided. Rural Development Minister K.C. Joseph, Agricultural Minister K.P. Mohanan, MLAs E.P. Jayrajan and K.K. Narayanan, KIAL managing director V. Thulaidas, Collector Rathan Kelkar, Executive Director of AECOM-Asia, airport consultancy company, John Mennis, and District panchayat president K.A. Sarala were present.

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·  Runway work to begin by March 31, 2013

·  First flight to land by December 31, 2015

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/kannur-airport-in-3-years-chandy/article4177346.ece