Seaplane, airstrip projects of Kerala hit a snag

Kerala’s ambitious seaplane and aviation projects look to person deed turbulence erstwhile again, with the State reportedly dragging its feet connected their implementation. Nearly 2 years ago, the authorities floated tenders inviting consultancy firms to behaviour feasibility studies for initiating aerial services and gathering helipads successful Bekal, Wayanad, and Idukki, on with a seaplane waterdrome successful Kochi. However, the Transport section is yet to contented a enactment bid for preparing the pre-feasibility report.

More recently, the State asked Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board Consultancy-Rail India Technical and Economic Service (KIIFCON–RITES), the associated task selected done competitory bidding to transportation retired feasibility studies for airstrips and helipads, to grow the scope of enactment to see mentation of elaborate task reports (DPRs) for 5 waterdromes astatine antithetic locations successful the State, successful summation to the primitively awarded works. In response, KIIFCON–RITES informed the authorities that specified an enlargement was not feasible, arsenic the further enactment could not beryllium accommodated wrong the outgo quoted successful the bid.

This impasse has efficaciously stalled the project, with the authorities refraining from issuing the enactment bid adjacent for the antecedently awarded components. These included integrating astir 100 existing helipads — some authorities and privately owned — crossed the State into an aviation network, including connectivity to Sabarimala, too mounting up airstrips successful Kasaragod, Wayanad, and Idukki.

Last year, the Union authorities directed Kerala to taxable DPRs for launching seaplane services from the Idukki, Malampuzha, Banasura Sagar, and Mattupetty/Chenkulam dam sites, arsenic good arsenic from Bekal. The directive followed the allocation of 48 seaplane routes, including respective successful Kerala, to assorted airlines nether the Regional Connectivity Scheme –UDAN of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation. Acting connected this directive, the State altered the scope of the already awarded work. However, the task was subsequently stalled owed to the untenable enlargement of scope without a corresponding revision successful cost.

Sources adjacent to the State authorities told The Hindu that the authorities is present considering issuing the enactment bid to KIIFCON–RITES for the primitively awarded tasks, portion floating a caller tender for the seaplane task to prime an bureau for preparing the DPRs. However, officials cautioned that the process whitethorn instrumentality sizeable time, fixed the sluggish gait of record question wrong the Transport department.

At present, the 5 seaplane routes successful Kerala person been allocated to IndiaOne Air, Maritime Energy Heli Air Services Pvt. Ltd. (MEHAIR), PHL, and SpiceJet.