BPCL to invest Rs 170 crore in Kannur Airport; MoU to be signed Tuesday

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will sign a memorandum of understanding with Kerala Government on Tuesday, to invest Rs 170 crore  and have a stake of 21 per cent in the proposed Kannur international airport project.  A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the BPCL board recently.

 Earlier, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had held several rounds of talks with the BPCL authorities in this connection.

 BPCL Executive Director and aviation business head S B Bhattacharya and Kannur International Airport Ltd Managing Director V Thulasidas will sign the MoU. Chief Minister and other ministers will be present at the function.

 Kannur International Airport Ltd, a special purpose vehicle, proposes to raise Rs 784 crore as capital in the initial phase. The total share capital is Rs 1,000 crore. The Kerala Government will have a 26 per cent stake while government-owned institutions will have 23 per cent stake. Private-public institutions would have two per cent stake and the rest 49 per cent will be open for subscription by the public.

 Minister K Babu, who has the charge of Aviation, said that Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd and Kerala State Beverages Corporation have already invested Rs 5 crore each and Kerala State Industrial Enterprises Rs 10 lakh in the project.