Helipad at mobility hub

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The revised design being prepared for the Vyttila Mobility Hub, so as to include a metro station, would also have provisions for a helipad, thanks to a proposal made by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at a high-level meeting in which the official nod was given to phase-two of the international bus terminal.
“The government plans to build a helipad in every district in the future.

So the chief minister suggested that one be set up at Vytilla. We’re making provisions for the same in the revised plan to be submitted to the Hub society in three months,” an official of KITCO, the technical consultancy organisation entrusted with the task, told DC.

However, he added that only provisions have been made in the plan and a final decision whether to have the facility or not, will have to come from the government.

“The ground and first floors will be used for bus parking and the next four are being mooted for commercial activities. The helipad, on receiving the final sanction, will be made on the rooftop of the six-storey structure,” the official said.

KITCO has floated tenders inviting architectural firms of international repute to prepare the revised masterplan for the second phase, which will have changes from the original plan to incorporate the metro station.

The move comes even as the Cochin International Airport Ltd is close to setting up three helipads at Nedumbassery.

The helipad at Vytilla is expected to facilitate the operation of air ambulances. Hospitals like Lakeshore, have already set up the facility and have applied for a licence.

The 60 million-dollar Vytilla Mobility Hub which will come up on 26 acres of land is envisaged as an integrated terminal where various modes of transportation converge at a single point, thus enabling a seamless exchange of various mode of transit for commuters.