The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had submitted the technical report on the proposed airport at Kannur in Kerala to the Centre, minister for civil aviation C M Ibrahim said yesterday.
The government would decide before the end of the month whether the construction of the airport should be taken up with private participation or not, the minister said. He was addressing a meet-the-press programme arranged by the Kannur Press Club. Ibrahim, who arrived yesterday from Bangalore to visit the sites identified for the airport said if the idea of private participation did not work out, the AAI would take up the project on its own.
The minister said Kerala had offered land and other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
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Four places Madayippara, Velliamparambu, Panayathamparambu and Moorkhanparambu had been identified by AAI officials who visited the sites recently, as possible locations. The exact location of the airport would be decided soon. The minister said he would visit the proposed sites in the next two days.
He said despite differences of opinion about the feasibility of an airport project, Kannur would get an airport soon. There is no ulterior motive in mooting this proposal. Kerala should have got its fourth airport long back, the minister said.
Ibrahim said the airport would help Keralites who were in the Gulf countries. Why shouldnt they be given the facility to land in their hometown, he asked.
The minister said the tourism industry would also get a boost if the airport came up. An airport nearer to the many tourist destinations in northern Kerala will cater to the needs of tourists, he said.
He said after the reduction in flight charges to the Gulf from Kozhikode, the airport in the city was doing very well. Steps had also been taken to introduce Mumbai-Kanpur-Ahmedabad flights touching the industrial capital of Uttar Pradesh for the first time.
The minister said a hub facility had already been set up at Thiruvanathapuram airport for Air India flights.