For the residents of Kochi, the old airport at Wellington Island is a nostalgia these days. The old airport was at naval premises. The old airport was too small to handle the needs of Kochi. Also, due to security concerns a new airport was inevitable for the city. There came the NEW COCHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT at Nedumbassery.
Nedumbassery is a small village in between the two major towns Aluva and Angamaly. It is 30 kms away from Kochi city and 40 kms from the Traditional Capital of Kerala - Thrissur. It is considered to be such a place endowed with natural beauty and courteous people. Nedumbassery was earlier a place where people found it difficult to find takers for their land. But today realising the worth of their land, people are, increasingly, adopting a wait-and-watch approach towards land deals. Nedumbassery has enough water resources to meet with increasing populace.
ABOUT THE AIRPORT:
The Cochin International Airport is the First International Airport in India built by Public Private Participation. It was commissioned in June 10, 2000. The
stake from Central and Kerala Government is only 26% combined and the rest amount put in by NRI's and other major organizations. The airport is owned by Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).The Cochin International Airport has a runway of 3400 metre which is equipped to any aircraft which is operating today in the world.
Specialties of Cochin International Airport :
1) It is the Busiest Airport in Kerala.
2) It is 4th busiest airport in India in terms of International traffic after Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. (00) It handled 2.5 million passengers in domestic and International routes during 2006-07.
3) It is only airport today in India other than Mumbai and Delhi which can handle Airbus 380.
4) It has a full length parallel taxiway of 3400 metres which was completed recently which will help to land flights and take off within minutes. Earlier it was a common site of aircrafts waiting to land and take off.
5) A 35-billion-rupee master plan involving construction of an 18-hole golf course, business centre, hotel chains, malls, industrial and IT parks and logistics centre has been developed by CIAL to generate revenues.
6) An aircraft maintenance centre.
7) Runway 0f 3.4 kms is one of the longest in India.
8) Kochi accounts for nearly half the total aircraft movement in and out of Kerala.(001)
9) Ranked third in the world in terms of balance between investment and profit, Cochin International Airport Ltd. is regarded as the most successful investment venture of the State.(0000)
10) Around 40 % of airline ticket sale in India come from South Indian Airports mainly Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi. (0012)
In a few years to come Nedumbassery will upgrade itself as a developed Town.
Development Of Kochi!
The city's history dates back to 3000 BC when traders from various parts used to arrive to Mattancherry (Old Kochi) for Spice Trade. Kochi maintained its position in spice trade as the spice traded from Kochi is regarded as th best in the world.
Earlier it was Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad which took long strides in development. Now it is the turn of Kochi to follow. Due to a number of favourable factors, Kochi is fast becoming an important IT hub in the country.
New Developments in Kochi Airport :
1) Cochin International Airport (CIAL) has initiated efforts to effectively tap the big potential to export perishable items like vegetables, fish and meat through the airport.
Centre for Perishable Cargo (CPC) is to be constructed by CIAL with the financial assistance of the Centre and State Horticulture Mission. CPC was the second one in the country and it would ensure the cold chain process for fruit, vegetables and other perishables, enabling them to reach the overseas customers without losing their freshness.
CIAL expects a 12 per cent growth in the export of farm produces from the State with the commissioning of the proposed system.(000)
2) Kochi Airport to be partly closed for seven months:
Almost 200 out of 400 weekly domestic and international flights in and out of Kochi will be severely affected with the airport authorities deciding to close the runway from 10 am to 8 pm every day for seven months starting November this year. The entire runway needs to be recarpeted.
3) CIAL plans of Low Cost carrier.
Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is looking at forming a joint venture (JV) to kick off its much awaited low-cost carrier (LCC), Air Kerala.(002)
4) The Cochin International Airport is planning to construct a new domestic arrival terminal and five extra parking bays. Out of the five new parking bays, three will be constructed immediately and the rest after September 2008.(003)
5) Air India plans to extend New York flight to South. Bangalore along with Kochi is being actively considered by the airline as it will ensure direct connectivity to New York.(0012)
Till the inauguration of Kochi's New Airport almost all of the domestic and cargo traffic was handled by Trivandrum International Airport(shown here).
But now Kochi has overwhelmed Trivandrum Airport as Kochi today handles around 52% of Kerala's traffic. The rest is handled by Trivandrum and Calicut International airports. Also Mangalore airport of Karnataka and Coimbatore airport of Tamil Nadu serve the Keralites.
Hey just consider the following things :
Kochi is of course a small city in comparison with Mumbai and Delhi. But the city is spreading to new area making it really big and making it a Metro City of Kerala. The population of Kochi is approaching 2 Million mark only but still it is a happening city and is 4th busiest airport in India. It often competes with Bangalore and when all the big projects become a reality in Kochi it is unimaginable how the city will develop.
Today the area near Nedumbassery and Kakkanad is called as New Cochin showing that city is developing beyond leaps and bounds.
So the contribution of CIAL in the development of Kochi is absolutely huge.
My caption of the blog says that Kochi is the only city in the world where 22 different community live together in harmony. This plays a major role in changing the face of Kochi and it differentiates Kochi from other cities.
Hoping for better Kochi
In Him
VIVEK SHENOY P
FEB 05, 2008
11. 30 PM
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