Land acquisition for Kannur airport to be intensified: Oommen Chandy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Land acquisition for construction of runway of Kannur Airport, the second one to come under PPP mode, will be expedited, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here today.

Steps would be taken immediately to release necessary funds for the same. It has also been decided to start the drainage work, he said at a meeting to review ongoing work.

The District Collector has been entrusted to take a decision on providing compensation to farmers whose crops have been damaged due to the construction work, he said.

The foundation stone for the airport was laid in 2014 and commercial operations are expected to start next year.

The state government has a 35 per cent stake in the airport and the terminal will have a capacity to handle 2,000 passengers at a time.

This will be the Fourth international airport in Kerala. The others are at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. Kochi International Airport is the first PPP mode airport in the state.