Lessons on the tarmac

Nearly a month after the formal commissioning, the euphoria has not died down. More people seem totrek every day to see the airport than to any of Kerala8217;s many-splendoured temples. Comparison is often odd. Yet one will be in order, if only because of a similar glitz and glamour that marked its opening. The reference is to the international airport at Chek Lap Kok in Hong Kong, formally inaugurated just a year ago. Nonetheless, this 20 billion showpiece of hi-tech attracted, and still attracts, more flak than flowers.

For good reasons. The opening day saw almost everything in a spin. The flight information boards were blank. The ticketing terminals went blank. A laser ground guiding system conked off. Many escalators stalled. Worse still, for nearly six weeks, the cargo handling system set up at a cost of 1 billion just wouldn8217;t work. Containers of cargo piled up on the tarmac with perishable items like fish rotting in the open. Latest reports, however, suggest that most of the glitches have been set right. But the bad taste still lingers in the mouth.

The comparison is made just to drive home twolessons. One, a big-budget project hardly guarantees instant success. Two, small is serviceable, besi-des being beautiful, even in the big business world of air transportation. Both have relevance as every state wants to have an international airport, possibly very similar to Hong Kong8217;s. The proposed airp-ort in Bangalore, for example, envisages an investment upwards of Rs 1500 crore. The one at Kochi cost just Rs 230 crore and is rated by operators, including foreign, as one of the best in the country in terms of technology and facility.

The Kochi experiment is unique in many ways. But two aspects deserve special mention. One is the way it was financed. The state government and a few financial institutions did chip in with their contributions. But, for the first time, substantial contributions came from the nearly 10,000 non-resident Keralites from about 30 countries. It did seem a risky decision, given Kerala8217;s notorious industrial relations record, but in the event it paid off.

The execution of theproject was a challenge. Again, two factors helped the team headed by V.J. Kurien, a no-nonsense bureaucrat. One was that the project had the blessings of every political party, and, more importantly, the state government and the media. Perhaps Kurien8217;s greatest advantage was that he had on the board of directors people who apparently did not know what was expected of them and hence, mercifully, left everything to the men on the spot, something unseen and unheard of either in Kerala or elsewhere in the country. Quite cleverly, all transactions, including construction contracts and equipment supplies, were, to use a cliche, transparent. None, therefore, dared to put pressure on Kurien and his team for fear of being hauled up in public. Which explains why the project could be completed without any time or cost over-runs. Comment is superfluous.