KOCHI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday that the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) was instrumental in busting the concept that it is for the private sector to generate profit and public sector to incur loss. Speaking after inaugurating the new international terminal (Terminal-3), the four-lane new road and overbridge to the airport and the new solar panel wing at the airport, he said that CIAL even as it generated profit focused on fulfilling the corporate social responsibility by funding social projects.
“This included Rs 4 crore given to Suchithwa Mission, Rs 10 crore given to Ernakulam Govt Medical College and Rs 17 crore for the drinking water project for four panchayats in the area as well as giving employment to thousands of people directly and indirectly,” he said. He also said that CIAL in which government has only 35 per cent stake reversed the concept that infrastructure development was the responsibility of government. “In its place people’s collectives have come to play in the state which has set an example before the world and we are going to realise the Kannur airport also in the same fashion in another six months,” he said.
Mr Vijayan also said the government has made up its mind on an airport for Sabarimala and the work for identifying site and implementing agency are now on. He said that he was disappointed over the approach of the Civil Aviation Ministry in not giving green light for wide-bodied aircraft to land at Karipur airport despite rectifying the shortcomings.
Earlier Mr Vijayan received the first Jet Air aircraft that arrived with 68 passengers from Muscat around 4.30 pm on Saturday at T3 along with Ministers Dr Thomas Isaac, V S Sunil Kumar and Mathew T Thomas and MLAs Hibi Eden, Anwar Sadath, V D Satheesan and Roji M John and K V Thomas MP and others. The CIAL fire and rescue unit received the flight with customary water salute. Industrialist M A Yousuf Ali and CIAL managing director V J Kurien were present on the occasion.
