Facility for Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kannur airports

A direct waterway connectivity to the three international airports of the State is on the anvil as part of incorporating a multi-modal transport system linking air, land, and waterways.

The waterway-airport connectivity has been proposed as part of a project kicked off by the State government to make the 610-km waterway from Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram to Bekal in Kasaragod navigable by 2022.

This will enable air passengers to reach the Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and upcoming Kannur airports through the waterway by boat, which could save time and money.

Special purpose vehicle

The project is being executed under the joint venture Kerala Waterways and Infrastructure Limited (KWIL), a special purpose vehicle, floated by the State government, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) and others on 49:49:2 equity for the development of waterways.

A roadmap for the waterway-airport connectivity was presented to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan the other day by Managing Director of KWIL V.J. Kurian during the course of the review of the waterway development works.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the international airport is just 500 metres from Parvathi Puthanar. A boat terminal would provide people access to airport via inland waterways. Steps to clean and de-silt the canal and make the Kovalam-Chakka stretch navigable are on and this will ensure waterway-airport connectivity without much trouble.

The proximity of the airport terminal to the Kovalam beach can augment tourist traffic too. To connect the waterway to the Kochi airport, the KWIL is considering a proposal to use Chengalthodu, an extremely silted tributary of the Periyar.

A KWIL official said the challenge is to retain water level for the movement of small vessels in Chengalthodu that can be easily accessed from Terminal III of the greenfield airport at Nedumbassery. The connectivity from the Cochin airport will be to Periyar.

The waterway link to the Kannur airport should be the biggest challenge. The 26-km Mahe-Valapattanam stretch of the West Coast Canal has to be developed and linked to the Ancharakandy river to ensure connectivity to the Kannur airport. “We have received the feasibility report for development of the 4-km waterway-airport connectivity,” Mr. Kurian, also the MD of CIAL, said.

Already, the Centre has declared the Kollam-Kottapuram, Champakara-Udyogamandal, Kottapuram-Kozhikode, Kottayam-Changanassery, Kottayam-Alappuzha and Athirampuzha-Kottayam-Alappuzha as National Waterway (NW) III. The stretches from Kozhikode to Kasaragod and from Kovalam to Kollam need to be declared as NW III.