Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan launches seven mega projects, including cargo terminal, at Kochi airport

PSUs serve as an alternative

Addressing the gathering, Vijayan said Kerala is showing the public an alternative when even the strategic public sector undertakings, including airports, are being privatised across the country. 

“We are living at a time when even the strategic public sector undertakings in this country are being privatised. But in Kerala, the public sector undertakings are being protected and are prospering. We even took over the public sector undertakings that the Union government had put up for sale,” Vijayan said.

He said that the PSUs in Kerala serve as an alternative to privatisation in that sector.

Vijayan said that the Indian aviation sector expects an annual growth of 9.7 percent, and the terminal expansion of CIAL is being implemented to cater to future needs.

With the eight new aero bridges, the parking bays will increase to 44. The upcoming aero lounge will consist of 42 luxury guest rooms, a restaurant, a mini-conference hall, a board room, a gym, and a spa, among other facilities, Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

Once fully operational, the massive 50,000 sq ft lounge will become the biggest such facility in the country.

The Airport Fire and Rescue Force was upgraded to Airport Emergency Services, and Vijayan also inaugurated the inclusion of two Austrian-made fire engines and other advanced vehicles among other safety measures at CIAL.

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‘Will increase annual capacity’

CIAL said the Import Cargo Terminal will increase the annual capacity of cargo handling to two lakh metric tonnes.

Praising the CIAL engineers, Vijayan said the DigiYatra software was developed by the IT wing of CIAL itself and aims to smoothen the delivery of services at the entry gates of the airport.

“Other airports can utilise this software, and it can generate revenue for CIAL,” Vijayan added.

The chief minister also inaugurated works to install a Perimeter Intrusion Detection System along the 12-km-long compound wall.

State Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Revenue Minister K Rajan, Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas, Congress leader and Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, some MLAs, and others participated in the event. 

Cochin International Airport is the first in India to be built by a public-private partnership and is owned by a public limited company CIAL, created by the Kerala government.

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