Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the chairman of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), has appealed to shareholders to contribute a portion of last financial year’s dividend towards flood relief and resettlement. He was speaking at the annual general meeting (AGM) of CIAL here on Saturday. The AGM approved payment of 25% dividend to shareholders.
The approval of dividend for the last financial year takes up the total dividend outgo from the company to 228% since 2003-2004. CIAL has a total of around 19,000 shareholders.
CIAL employees contributed ₹2.9 crore to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), the sum being a month’s salary of the employees, said a CIAL press release.
The company recorded a total turnover of ₹553 crore in the last financial year. The turnover saw a growth of 13.57% compared to the previous year. The company has recorded a net profit of ₹158 crore out of the operational profit of nearly ₹388 crore.
The Chief Minister said CIAL was implementing a master plan to ensure that in the future the airport did not face the situation it faced during the floods. For the record, the airport was closed for 15 days. The Chief Minister said he was proud that the airport could return to normal operations in quick time against heavy odds.
Terminal One
Mr. Vijayan informed that the renovated Terminal One would be ready to receive domestic services by December.
The solar panels, which were affected by heavy flooding, are back to near normality. At present, the airport’s solar farm produces 29.1 megawatts of power. The production will go up to 40 MW by December, the release added. The Chief Minister presided over the AGM. Ministers T.M. Thomas Isaac, Mathew T. Thomas, and V.S. Sunil Kumar, and CIAL managing director V.J. Kurien were among those who were present.
