The
proposed Rs 2,000 crore greenfield airport at Aranmula in Kerala’s
Pathanamthitta district has been facing stiff opposition for several months.
However, the Chennai-based KGS Group that is supposed to construct and manage
the airport is confident that the first flight will take off before December
2014.
But, other than three or four political flags, there is little
sign of work going on at the project site in Aranmula that is spread over
nearly 700 acres. However, the prime fully-developed land (the runway) has been
levelled up to 12 ft. KGS’s confidence stems from a possible equity dilution in
favour of the Kerala Government, which could effectively put most protestors at
bay.
The group, which has interests in property development, paper
mill and engineering, is promoted by three people and a 15 per cent equity
stake by Reliance Group. The combined market value of the group’s assets is
nearly $1 billion.
Government support
The Kerala Government plans to pick up a 15 per cent stake in
the KGS Aranmula International Airport — the company setting up the project.
Further, the group is also in talks to divest nearly 10 per cent stake to
Malaysian Airports, which is also the technical partner. Malaysian Airports has
appointed KPMG to do the due diligence. “There has been opposition to the
project, but we are convincing each and every person opposing the project on
the importance of an international airport in Aranmulla,” said Gigi George,
Managing Director,KGS Aranmula International Airport Ltd. “There is a not a
single case against the project,” he said.
The project, which was conceived in 2009, was approved by the
previous State Government headed by the Left Front, while the Cabinet of the
current United Democratic Front Government gave its clearance recently. The KGS
(representing the promoters Kumaran, Gigi George and Shanmugham) Group has
brought in Rs 500 crore for the project. It is in discussion with leading banks
to infuse another Rs 500 crore. The project funding will have a 2:1 debt:equity
ratio, he said.
Aranmula, which has been declared as a global heritage village
by the UNESCO, is noted for its ancient temple dedicated to Lord Krishna
(Parthasarathy), the Snake Boat Regatta held in the holy river Pampa and for
the metallic mirror.
Local fears
The locals fear that the airport could harm the ‘heritage’ tag
of the town. However, the company denies that the airport will have any effect
on the heritage culture.
People also fear that the airport will affect the structure of
the famous Parthasarathy temple that is located just a few hundred metres from
the project site. This, too, was refuted by George.
The airport is designed to cater to aircraft such as Airbus
A-320 and Boeing 747. The terminal building is designed to handle nearly 1,000
passengers at a time. The project will generate direct employment for 1,500
people and indirect for over 6,000, he said.
On choosing Aranmula, which is sandwiched between Kochi and
Thriuvanthapuram airports, for an airport, George said the location was an
‘influential zone’ and close to multiple destinations such as Kumarakom (35
km), the back waters of Alappuzha (35 km) and high ranges of Kumily and Thekkady
tiger reserve.
Huge possibility
However, the biggest attraction is that it takes only an hour’s
drive to Sabarimala, the second largest pilgrim centre in India, that receives
about 60 million pilgrims annually . The airport will provide infrastructure to
pilgrims who wish to travel by air.
Currently, Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi airports are the closest
but people need to spend at least four hours on travel from there. The company
hopes that one in 200 coming to Sabarimala may use the Aranmula airport. This
could be very cost effective for passengers. At present, for a traveller from
Dubai to Thiruvanthapuram, the flight charges could be Rs 10,000. It costs
another Rs 10,000 to travel from Thiruvanthapuram to Aranmula, he said.
Further, nearly 40 per cent of Kerala’s air traffic emanates
from this zone, he said. George added that the airport is expected to serve
four districts in Kerala — Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki and Alappuzha that
together account for 21 per cent of foreign tourists and 14 per cent of
domestic tourists, he said. Even though Kerala has only 2.75 per cent of the
overall population of India, the international aircraft movement in the State
was 15.28 per cent of the overall international aircraft movement of India in
2011-12. The company hopes to generate two-third of the passenger traffic on
its own and hopes to divert one-third from from Kochi, Thiruvanthapuram and
Kozhikode airports.
“If the project is to be viable, the project cost needs to be
low. That’s what we have done. When compared to other projects, our cost is
very low,” he said. Out of the Rs 2,000 crore capital and promoters’
contribution will be Rs 700 crore and the balance through debt.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-logistics/aranmula-airport-sees-no-hurdle-in-2014-takeoff/article4088466.ece
