The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has mounted pressure on the State to provide land for the development of the Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut International Airports in the State.
AAI Chairman R.K. Srivastava, in the capital on Wednesday for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL) for equity investment in the upcoming Kannur airport, said the AAI was committed to the development of the two airports.
The capacity of the new international terminal that had come up on the city side in the capital was underutilised. Delay in handing over the land had held up the construction of the domestic terminal, he said. The AAI chairman said the concerns of the people near the existing domestic terminal at Shanghumughom that their livelihood would be affected once the terminal was shifted needed to be addressed.
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“The government should work out a way and provide us the land. We will complete what was committed,” he said. Regarding the construction of a new terminal at Calicut International Airport at Karipur, Mr. Srivastava said the sole bid and the lack of interest shown by the contractors was creating hurdles.
The AAI Chairman urged the Minister for Ports, Excise and Aviation, K. Babu and Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson to intervene and make available land to the AAI.
“Land cost is shooting up. Aviation is growing and many are switching from other modes of transport and this has to be kept in mind,” he told them.
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Stating that the runway of Calicut airport was over-utilised, Mr. Srivastava said the AAI would ensure that the ongoing re-carpeting of the runway was expedited to end the hassles faced by travellers. The AAI was in receipt of the memorandums from the government, airline companies, and others in this regard, he said.