Leela group planning airport in Kerala

With a view to promote tourism in Kerala, Leela Ventures is planning to set up a 100% private airport at Kannur.

"Kannur has a garment park, IT park and horticulture park. Now it needs an airport. Leela will be setting up the project here, which will be the first 100%private airport in the country," Leela Venture chairman C P Krishnan Nair told PTI.

"Around 300 acres of land has already been acquired for the project in north Kerala, and another 1,000 acre would be acquired after the assembly elections scheduled in May," he added.

Airports in states like Kerala have good revenue potential as Cochin Airport made a profit of Rs 65 crore this year, Nair said.

He, however, was critical of the planned international airport at Mopa in Goa. "An airport at Mopa in north Goa would benefit Maharashtra, not Goa. The best deal is to shift the naval base from the existing Dabolim airport to Karwar (Karnataka), and improve the Dabolim airport," he said.

"800 acres of land at the Dabolim airport is left unused. We have two runways at Dabolim, and we can add another one," Nair said.

The proposed airport at Mopa lacks the facility of a super-express highway, and tourists would not be comfortable travelling from there, he added.