The third terminal at the Cochin International Airport will be officially inaugurated on February 26 by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. According to reports quoting Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) official, the new terminal is built in a record time of two years over an area of 15 lakh sq ft and will handle 4,000 passengers. Opened in 1999, CIAL is the country’s first greenfield airport built and managed in the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. It is the biggest of the three international airports in Kerala.
The total paid-up capital of the airport is Rs 306.06 crore of which the Kerala Government accounts for Rs 100 crore. The CIAL became the first airport in the world to operate on solar power last year when a 12 MW solar power plant was commissioned. The Kerala hub handles multiple Indian and international carriers, including Emirates, Etihad, AirAsia, Qatar Airways and SilkAir. (Source: Economic Times)