The prospect of a new domestic terminal for Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, adjacent to the international terminal complex, has brightened with the government giving the green signal for acquiring eight hectares of land.
At a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his office in the Legislative Assembly complex here on Monday, it was decided to hold a meeting of all concerned before the revenue administration went ahead with land acquisition.
Over the years, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had been putting pressure on the government for providing 32.8 hectares of land to set up the new domestic terminal and ancillary facilities. The 8 hectares identified for the terminal has already been notified but the revenue authorities could not go forward due to opposition from local people.
Third phase development
The proposed terminal is part of the third and final phase of the ambitious master plan conceived by the AAI in the 1990s.
The meeting also decided to go ahead with the request of the AAI to provide land for the 150 metre basic strip for the airport.
For this, the land from Brahmos, fire station at Chakka and the Air Force at Shanghumughom has to be acquired. The government will hold talks with these agencies to acquire land for the mandatory basic strip of the airport.
However, the meeting failed to arrive at a decision to provide a new hassle-free connectivity for the airport to the National Highway 66 bypass that is being widened.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Power Kadakampally Surendran; V.S. Sivakumar, MLA; Additional Chief Secretaries Nalini Netto and V.J. Kurien; Private Secretary to the Chief Minister M. Shivasankar; District Collector Biju Prabhakar; Airport Director George G. Tharakan; and Natpac Director B. G. Sreedevi.
AAI has been demanding 32.8 ha for new domestic terminal
Go ahead for AAI’s request to provide land for 150 m basic strip for airport
