The State capital is moving into the fast lane of development with a clutch of projects that promise to improve the city’s transport and communication facilities and urban infrastructure coming up. Among the most notable of these is the Aeropolis, to be created around the world-class terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram international airport, one of the gateways to the country.
An inclusive growth concept, Aeropolis envisages economic intervention and creation of a common platform for all aviation-related activities of the major industrial and information technology units. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), the nodal agency for the project, has already received the feasibility study carried out by Knight Frank India Ltd. It is conceived as a regional development project that includes the Kazhakuttam-Vizhinjam corridor where establishments like Technopark, VSSC and BrahMos Aerospace and the Aircraft Maintenance Base, where even C-checks of aircraft can be done.
Multi-modal hub
The KSIDC, while forwarding the report to Transport Department, has proposed a high-level inter-departmental committee to oversee implementation of the project, which was initiated by the State Planning Board on the basis of a proposal put forth by the former Airport Director, V.N. Chandran, to develop the premier airport into a multi-modal transport hub.
The AAI and the other project proponents want the multi-modal hub to be an integral part of Aeropolis, linking the international airport with five modes of transport. The new terminal complex at the airport is located 500 metres from the Parvathi Puthanar. A boat terminal near the airport boundary would provide access to people travelling by inland waterways. The State has taken the initiative to use Parvathy Puthanar to connect it to adjoining tourist spots such as Kovalam, Thiruvallom, Veli, Akkulam and Varkala and to to make the Kovalam-Chakka stretch of the canal navigable.
There can also be a link to the railway network as the terminal is located one km from the Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam railway line. Extension of rail line from Chakka will offer connectivity to those arriving from across the State and adjoining Tamil Nadu. The 25-km rail link from Connaught Place to the Delhi airport has been cited as an example. A six-lane bridge already connects the new terminal complex with NH 66 bypass that extends from Kazhakuttam to Inchivila in Tamil Nadu. It is hoped that once the Aeropolis project is fully realised, the capital would become a model in transportation planning.
The Aeropolis project would turn the Thiruvananthapuram international airport into a multi-modal transport hub.