KOTTAYAM: The techno-feasibility study of the proposed Erumeli airport may not be ready by March 31 as promised by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the Assembly last week. According to Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), the nodal agency for the airport project, the consultancy firm Louis Berger which the state government had appointed for preparing the techno-feasibility study, is expected to submit its report in April. The report will then have to be ratified by the technical committee.
KSIDC deputy general manager G. Unnikrishnan said it takes a slew of procedures once the report was submitted before the technical committee. "This will depend on the time the technical committee takes for studying the report," he told DC. The state cabinet had in August 2017 approved the recommendation of the three-member committee headed by additional chief secretary(revenue) P.H. Kurian to choose the 2,268 acre Cheruvally estate in Kanjirapally taluk for the proposed greenfield airport, which is expected to minimise the traffic on the roads to the pilgrim destination of Sabarimala. It was on last Tuesday that the Chief Minister said in the assembly that the techno-feasibility report and the environmental impact assessment study report will be ready by the end of this month.
