 "Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan")
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday inaugurated seven "mega projects" at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) here.
The chief minister launched the operation of the Import Cargo Terminal, DigiYatra software and Airport Emergency Services at the international airport at an event held at CIAL.
He also launched the projects for the first phase of the expansion of Terminal 3, the '0484' luxury aero lounge, an intrusion detection system at the airport and golf resorts.
Addressing the gathering, Vijayan said Kerala is showing the public an alternative when even the strategic public sector undertakings in the country, including airports, are being privatised in the country.
"We are living at a time when even the strategic public sector undertakings in this country are being privatised. But in Kerala, the public sector undertakings are being protected and are prospering. We even took over the public sector undertakings that the Centre had put up for sale," Vijayan said.
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He said that the PSUs in Kerala serve as an alternative to privatisation in that sector.
Vijayan said that the Indian aviation sector expects an annual growth of 9.7 per cent and the terminal expansion of CIAL is being implemented to cater to future needs.
With the new eight aero bridges, the parking bays will increase to 44. The upcoming aero lounge will consist of 42 luxury guest rooms, a restaurant, mini conference hall, board room, gym, and spa, among other facilities, Vijayan had said yesterday in a Facebook post.
Once fully operational, the massive 50,000 sq ft lounge will become the biggest such facility in the country.
The Airport Fire and Rescue Force was today upgraded to Airport Emergency Services, and Vijayan also inaugurated the inclusion of two Austrian-made fire engines and other advanced vehicles among other safety measures at CIAL.
CIAL said the Import Cargo Terminal will increase the annual capacity of cargo handling to two lakh metric tonnes.
Praising the CIAL engineers, Vijayan said the DigiYatra software was developed by the IT wing of CIAL itself and aims to smoothen the delivery of services at the entry gates of the airport.
"Other airports can utilise this software and it can generate revenue for CIAL," Vijayan added.
The chief minister also inaugurated works to install a Perimeter Intrusion Detection System along the 12-km-long compound wall.
State Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Revenue Minister K Rajan, Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas, Congress leader and Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, some MLAs, and others participated in the event.
Cochin International Airport is the first in India to be built by a public-private partnership and is owned by a public limited company CIAL, created by the Kerala government.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
