Item No. 16 of Form 1

Details of Alternative Sites examined, if any. Location of these sites should be shown on a toposheet.

The present site was chosen for the following reasons. Alternative sites could not identified due to the topography of Kerala State.

 The topography of Kerala State is very unique. It has a coast line on the entire western length and the eastern portion of the State is dominated by the Western Ghats and it’s forests. Hence the choice of sites for an airport project are extremely limited. Availability of a contiguous parcel of land measuring 500 acres is a difficult proposition. Moreover, the land should be fallow, meaning no cultivation currently being carried out.  As per the Greenfield Airport Policy, sufficient distance should be maintained between two airports to ensure that commercial viability is not affected. Three airports are already functioning, Trivandrum, Cochin and Kozhikode. The fourth airport at Kannur is under construction. Under the circumstances ,the proposed airport at Aranmula, situated between Trivandrum and Cochin on the vertical belt and a good distance away from Madurai airport, on the horizontal belt, is ideally located. With this proposed airport, there will be five airports, almost equidistant from each other in the North to South corridor of Kerala, effectively serving the entire population of the State.  There is a naval station. INS Garuda, near Cochin and any airport site has to be sufficiently at a distance between this naval airport, due to security and communication reasons. Aranmula fulfills that criteria and we hold a NOC from Defence Ministry.

 The density of population in Pathanamtitta and adjoining districts necessitate an airport for Central Travancore. The number of Non Resident Keralites in Gulf and other countries will be greatly benefitted by the location of the proposed airport. Kerala, amongst all the Indian States, attracts the highest density of air travel. One in every three Keralites fly every year as compared to one in ten in the rest of India. Air Traffic has multiplied more than 5 times in the last 10 years (2004 to 2014) in Kerala. It has increased from 2 Million to 11 Million passengers per annum. When international flights are taken into account, Kochi, Kozhikode and Trivandrum are ranked at 4th, 7th and 8th busiest airport in the country. Taking into account all flights ( domestic plus international) Kochi, Trivandrum and Kozhikode Airports in Kerala are ranked as the 7th, 11th and 12th busiest Airport in the country. The proposed site offers a gateway to Sabarimala, which attracts 6 Crores devotees annually. The shrine is only 1 hour from the airport facilitating same day arrival, darshan and departure in the evening for devotees from all parts of India.. Sabarimala is the 2nd most visited shrine in India and the 3rd most visited shrine in the world. Tourists heading towards Vembanad lake, Kumarakom, Alapuzha will find the location of this airport as most convenient for their itinerary The proposed airport will cater to the 50 lakh population of the four districts of Pathanmthitta, Alapuzha, Kottayam and Idukki.  We hold all approvals, including Site approval from Airport Authority of India and an Obstacle Survey has been done and incorporated in another report of AAI giving the clearance for an airport at the proposed site. We hold approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Home Affairs.  Considering the importance of the location, the Govt. of Kerala has supported the project by declaring the Project Area as industrial land, as well as taking up a 10% equity share in the project.  In Kerala, the roads are congested. There is only one National Highway and it takes hours to reach even a distance of 100 km. This airport will clear this congestion to some extent and save a lot of time and energy for the vast population in our command area.  The wind is calm in this region giving an added reason to locate the airport at this site.  The land has been purchased by the Project Proponent at market price. There is no acquisition of land. No eviction or forcible displacement of dwellers is involved.

Attachments: 1) Physical map of Kerala 2) Location of the five airports in the corridor