The Hindu Business Line : Kenjar hopes for push from Mangalore airport tailwind

Mr M. R. Vasudeva, Airport Director, Mangalore Airport, inspecting the progress of work at the new terminal building at Kenjar, 14 km from Mangalore.

A. J. Vinayak

With the new terminal building of Mangalore airport set to be commissioned by March 2009, the spotlight is now on the overall development of Kenjar village where the new terminal building is coming up.

People of Mangalore are eager to see what measures the Karnataka Government will propose to develop infrastructure at Kenjar village, when the Budget session of the Legislative Assembly begins on July 17.

The advantage of having the new terminal building at Kenjar village is that it reduces the distance between Mangalore city and the airport by eight km. The distance between the present terminal building and the city is 22 km. When the Kenjar terminal building becomes operational, the distance will be reduced to 14 km.

Approach road, railway station

But the new terminal building needs a proper approach road. Work on this is being taken up under the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project (KUDCEMP). The 1 km-long road, which slopes at some points, ends on hilly terrain where the new terminal building is coming up.

The Budget could make necessary provisions for early completion of the road. This will help improve other infrastructure facilities near the new terminal building. Apart from the people of Dakshina Kannada, the Mangalore airport also caters to the needs of passengers from northern Kerala, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts. In such a situation, proposals such as the construction of a railway station at the foothills of Kenjar village on the Konkan Railway route, and a road from Kuloor on National Highway No. 17 on the banks of Gurupur River need the backing of the Karnataka Government.

Mr M. R. Vasudeva, Airport Director, Mangalore Airport, told Business Line that a railway station at the foothills of Kenjar village can help attract more passengers from northern Kerala and Uttara Kannada districts.

Recently, the Dakshina Kannada district in-charge Minister, Mr J. Krishna Palemar — who met officials of the Airports Authority of India — was informed about the benefits of having a railway station there. A few months ago, a delegation of passengers from northern Kerala had staged a protest in front of the airport seeking the construction of a railway station at the foothills of Kenjar.

Mr Rajesh Sequera, Coordinator of the UAE-based Karnataka NRI Forum, said the State Government should send a proposal to the Centre in this regard, proposing the construction of a walkway from the new terminal building to the location of the proposed railway station.

According to him, the State Government should also consider the construction of a parallel road from Kuloor area on National Highway No. 17 to the foothills of Kenjar village on the banks of Gurupur River. This will help passengers coming from areas such as Udupi and Manipal avoid the busy traffic leading to Mangalore airport on the present road. This will also reduce the distance to the new terminal building from these areas. At present, a passenger from Udupi has to travel 60 km to reach the airport. If work on the construction of a new road is initiated, the distance from these places will be reduced by 2.5 km. He said there should be a proposal for the construction of a road on this stretch in the State Budget. The trade and industry body seeks the development of the area in the vicinity of the new terminal building as a service hub. Mr K. Narasimha Prabhu, President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), said there is good potential for the development of sectors such as hospitality and information technology in the vicinity of the new terminal building. Those ready to invest in the development of service hub in the area should be given some incentive for setting up their units there, he said.

Even the AAI has provision for developing business parks in the vicinity of the airport under the city side development plan. Considering the increase in the number of international passengers at the airport, the State Government should make provisions for a separate police station for Kenjar, he said.

Mr Sequera said that the State Government should also send a proposal to the Centre seeking the declaration of Mangalore airport as an international one. At present, Mangalore airport has been given the status of customs aerodrome. A formal announcement declaring it as an international airport will boost its growth prospects, he said.

In Karnataka, only two airports operate international flights. Mangalore is the second airport in the State to operate flights to international destinations, the other one being the Bengaluru International Airport.

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