KOCHI: The director board of Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIAL) on Thursday decided to pay a 10 per cent dividend to its shareholders for the financial year 2005-06.

The decision was taken at a board meeting held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan. The board decided to retain the same rate of dividend paid during the previous fiscal. It was decided to hold the Annual General Meeting of the airport company here on December 28.

As Mr. Achuthanandan left immediately after the meeting because of some other engagements, Fisheries Minister S. Sarma, who is also a director board member, briefed the media about the decisions. The board discussed the Information Technology Park proposed on the land of the airport company and reached some understanding, Mr. Sarma said. However, the nature of ownership is yet to be decided, i.e., whether the IT park should be set up as an own company of the airport or as a joint venture. An emergency meeting of the board of directors will be held on November 17 to decide the policy matter.

The IT Park is planned on 33 acres of land at an estimated cost of Rs.600 crore. The park, to be set up in a phased manner, is expected to provide 15,000 job opportunities, both direct and indirect, with 5,000 jobs in the first phase.

The board decided to continue its efforts for Kerala Airways,' an airline proposed by the State Government in association with the airport company. The board of the airline company, set up as a subsidiary of the airport company, was reconstituted. The board chaired by the Chief Minister would have the Transport Minister, Managing Director of the airport company and a director board member as its members.

For the airline to be viable, it should have permission to operate in the Gulf sector. However, as per the existing guidelines, a start-up airline will have to operate domestic services for five years before staking claim to fly abroad. This, according to Mr. Sarma, is hampering the take off.

The director board meeting observed that considering the uniqueness of Kochi airport and its status as a model airport, the Centre should grant exemption to the stipulation. A delegation led by the Chief Minister will approach the Civil Aviation Ministry on the issue.

Regarding the settlement of loan with HUDCO, the board entrusted a sub-committee led by Mr. Sarma to negotiate an out-of-court settlementLater, talking to reporters, Shriram Bharath, Managing Director of the airport company, said the airport made a total revenue of Rs.115 crore during 2005-06 and registered a 30 per cent profit.

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