Flood woes: Cochin airport’s operational losses at ~3 bn

The devastating floods in August have resulted in a loss of ~3 billion for Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL).

The airport administration is formulating a plan to ensure that such disasters do not hamper its operations in future.

“Our estimates are that the operational and material losses to the airport due to the floods are around Rs 3 billion. A detailed survey is under way for insurance claims,” said a senior official from CIAL. The operations of the airport was suspended for more than a fortnight, from August 15, as the water from the nearby river inundated the runway.

CIAL has resumed full scale operations on August 29, after addressing various damages, including collapse of a 2,600 metres of a perimeter wall.

The company is creating a master plan with Kitco, the technical consultancy organisation under the state government and the Kerala irrigation department, to meet emergency situations like the floods or similar natural calamities. The consultants are in talks with neighbouring local self governments and have started irrigation surveys as well.

“We have also parallely formulated some measures to avoid such a situation in the future. We are building a regulator-cum-bridge at the mouth of the Periyar where the Chengalthodu canal diverts flood waters from the main river,” the official said.

To avoid people from getting isolated during floods and to facilitate easy evacuation, CIAL will be building four to five bridges over the canal. The company will also increase depth of the diversion canal.