Sabarimala Greenfield International Airport , is a proposed greenfield international airport in

Kottayam district Kottayam () is one of List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Kerala, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettu ...

, that will primarily cater to Sabarimala & Central Travancore Region. The proposed airport will also serve various tourism destinations such as

Kumarakom Kumarakom is a tourism destination near the city of Kottayam in Kerala, India. It is near the Vembanad Lake, the largest lake in the state of Kerala. In January 2023 ''The New York Times'' mentioned Kumarakom's backwater tourism. Climate Kum ...

Thekkady Thekkady () in Idukki district is a town near Periyar National Park, an important tourist attraction in the Kerala States and territories of India, state of India. The name Thekkady is derived from the word "thekku" which means teak and "adi ...

, and cities such as

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

. The airport will be built in between the towns of Erumeli and

Manimala Manimala is a small town and a village in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala, situated about from the nearest town Kanjirappally. It was declared a folklore village in 2011 by the central government to promote folklore. Geograp ...

. The site is spread over of area.

Tiruvalla Railway Station Tiruvalla railway station (station code: TRVL) is an NSG–3 category List of railway stations in India, Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is one of the busiest railway station in Thiruvan ...

is the nearest railway Station, located 29 km from the site. The proposed site is 50 km away from Pamba, which is the base camp of

Sabarimala temple The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple () is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ayyappan, who is also known as Shasta (deity), Dharma Shasta and is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu). The temple is sit ...

and 44 km from the city of

. It is 136 km from the state capital,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

, and 113 km from

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

. Upon commissioning, this will be the fifth international airport in Kerala, giving the state the distinction of having the most international airports in India.

History

The

, situated on the Western Ghats in Kerala's

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalitie ...

and is one of India's holiest

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

s, which attracts nearly around 50 million visitors each season. As of December 2019, an average of 75,000 pilgrims visit Sabarimala on a daily basis ever since the beginning of the annual pilgrim season in mid-November. Presently, the only way to reach the hill shrine is by road. The increase in the number of pilgrims visiting the temple had prompted the government to look at an airport as an option to reduce traffic congestion during the pilgrimage season. In view of this, in February 2017, the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

gave in-principle approval to construct the airport, and the

Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. is the industrial and investment promotion agency of the Government of Kerala (India), for the promotion and development of medium and large scale units in the State of Kerala. As the Nodal A ...

(KSIDC) was asked to conduct a feasibility study. KSIDC had issued global tenders for the feasibility study of the project. The tender was won by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

consultancy firm,

Louis Berger Group Louis Berger (formerly known as Berger Group Holdings) is a full-service engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, program and construction management and economic development firm based in Morristown, New Jersey. Founded in 1953 in H ...

. Louis Berger submitted a techno-economic feasibility study and

environmental impact assessment Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental impact, environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the te ...

of the proposed greenfield airport in December 2018. However, the consultancy did not conduct the environment impact assessment (EIA) as the state had not taken a final decision on the project including that of land acquisition. In 2019, the state government constituted a search committee to select a special officer for the project, who would be given the task of coordinating with the consultancy in acquiring environment impact clearances and for the union civil aviation ministry’s approval for the project. In December 2019, the state government appointed V. Thulasidas, the managing director of

Kannur International Airport Kannur International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Kannur, the Mahé district, Mahé district of Puducherry and the rest of northern Kerala in India. It is located in Mattanur, east of Kannur and east of Thalassery. ...

Ltd. (KIAL) as the special officer for the project. In April 2023, after a long delayed and complicated process as mentioned above, the project got approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and preparation of the project's

Detailed Project Report A project plan, is a series of structured tasks, objectives, and schedule to a complete a desired outcome, according to a project managers designs and purpose. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), is: "...a formal, appro ...

(DPR) is expected to begin within a month.

Ownership

The site for the proposed airport is nearby the Cheruvally Estate, which was formerly the site of a rubber plantation. Initially, the estate belonged to Harrison Plantations and later by the RPG Goenka group. Gospel for Asia, a Christian missionary organization under Believers Eastern Church, Thiruvalla took it over from the Goenka group. The ownership of the property was disputed in 2017 before the

High Court of Kerala The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to issu ...

claiming that the Estate was government land. A 2018 High Court order affirmed the church's ownership of the estate.

Project timeline

*February 2017: The

gives an in-principle approval to construct the airport, and the

(KSIDC) has been appointed to conduct a feasibility study. *December 2018: After the KSIDC issued global tenders for the feasibility study of the project, it was won by the

consultancy firm,

. It then submitted a techno-economic feasibility study and

of the project. *August 2019: The Government of Kerala constituted a search committee to select a special officer for the project, who would be given the task of coordinating with the consultancy in acquiring environment impact clearances and for the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s approval for the project. *December 2019: The Government of Kerala appointed V. Thulasidas, the managing director of

Ltd. (KIAL) as the special officer for the project. *April 2023: The project got approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and preparation of the project's

(DPR) is expected to begin within a month. *February 2024: The Kerala government on Thursday said in the Assembly that the Central government has granted site and defence clearance for the Sabarimala Greenfield Airport Project.

References

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/sabarimala-airport-digital-mapping-of-project-area-begins/article67580057.ece https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/kial-md-spl-officer-for-sabari-airport-project/articleshow/72464046.cms {{authority control Airports in Kerala Proposed airports in Kerala

History

Ownership

Project timeline

See also

References