The Cochin International Airport Ltd is likely to be the first airport in the country to get direct waterway connectivity to a major seaport if the announcement made by the State Water Resources Minister to commence work in this regard is any indication.
The Minister, Mr P.J. Joseph, while speaking at a function at the Cochin International Airport Ltd, said work on the proposed project, expected to involve an investment of Rs 50 crore, would commence in the 100-day action plan of the Government to connect the airport with the High Court jetty through the waterways. This would enable an air passenger to travel by boat to the city thereby saving time and money.
The CIAL also expressed its willingness to participate in the venture and has offered to invest Rs 3 crore, he said, and expressed the hope that the project can be completed within 18 months.
Major fillip
Company officials said the announcement, which is a long pending proposal, will give a major fillip to the proposal of the airport company in its efforts to set up a cargo village in the area.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India survey in this regard has divided the 49.5 km-long waterway into three stretches — from the Seaport to Eloor, from Eloor to Kanjoor, and from Kanjoor to the airport.
While the first stretch of 23 km is already a part of the National Waterway-3 and will require no improvement, some upgradation works including river bank protection, deepening of shallow portions and installation of concrete guide posts will have to be carried out to develop the second stretch of 26 km through the River Periyar.
The final stretch of 500 metres through the Chengalthodu is the most important part that interlinks the airport to the river. The environmental impact study also found that that the development of the route would not pollute the drinking water source.
Cargo station
The revival of the waterway will enable the CIAL to emerge as a major cargo station by incorporating multi-modal transport system linking air, land and waterways. The proposal envisages a redistribution of consignments by which the cargo originating from a foreign country is brought here by one flight and taken to the destination on a different aircraft. In addition, the arriving cargo could be transferred to sea containers and brought to the sea port for resuming its onward voyage.
The upcoming railway station will also provide an added advantage for outbound consignments of cargo.
The proposal for sea port–air port connectivity through the River Periyar was submitted to the State Government by the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation during 1999-2000.
However, this was not given due importance then as there was no budget allocation and the financial position of the Government was not conducive to take up such a project then. The succeeding Governments also did not give due weightage to the project.