Master plan for Kochi airport to meet emergency situations

Kochi airport, the seventh busiest in the country, had been non-functional from August 14 to 28 owing to the devastating flood that shook the entire state between August 8 and 22.

The airport authorities had first announced the shuttering of the facility till August 18, which was then extended to August 26 and further to August 29 as water levels continued to rise inundating the runway, the terminals as well as the large solar farm surrounding the airport.

The engineers from government-owned consultancy Kitco have begun a survey in Nedumbassery and Kanjoor panchayat areas as a preliminary step to help the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) to prepare a master plan to meet emergency situations and natural calamities such as the recent floods.

The master plan will be prepared for the airport and its neighbourhood. The present plans include a regulator-cum-bridge at the point where the river Periyar meets Chengalthode, a tributory of the Periyar river that previously ran through the airport’s present operational area.

The airport authority has also sought the help of Dutch consultants to prepare the master plan, and are expected to reach Kochi soon.

It is estimated that CIAL suffered at least Rs 220 crore loss due to the fortnight-long closure of operations.