Cochin International Airport raises the bar

The international airport in Kochi was envisaged as a public-private venture in the early 1990s. At the time there was no proven business model for infrastructure projects to emulate. All the same, Kochi International Airport Society, the special purpose vehicle of the Kerala government created to build the airport, acted swiftly. It raised nearly Rs 300 crore from investors in a matter of a few months - mostly NRIs, public and private companies, exporters and cooperative societies. And in just three years, the registered company, Cochin International Airport (CIAL), completed construction and started commercial service. CIAL has successfully weathered challenges over time. In the recent past, the dip in air travel post the global economic meltdown in 2008 and severe financial crisis afflicting most airlines had affected airports across the country but CIAL navigated the lean period without taking a big knock. In the three financial years upto 2013/14, the airport registered an average revenue growth of 14 per cent to Rs 363 crore while profit rose 11.4 per cent annually to Rs 124 crore.