Kerala golf course to open by December

KOCHI - The first phase of a Rs.480 million golf course being built by the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) here would be complete by the end of this year, a senior company official said Friday.

“The golf course would open with nine holes by December this year. Building this would cost Rs.20 crore (Rs.200 million). The first phase would be ready by December and this would match any international golf course,” CIAL company secretary K. Venkitesweran told IANS.

He said the state-of-the-art golf course will have 18 holes. “The golf course, situated on 130 acres, is coming up just next to the fourth largest airport that handles many international passengers in the country.”

Venkitesweran said 800 applications have been sold for Rs.10,000 each by now.

“By next month we expect to do the screening of the applications and allotment of membership would begin. We have an early bird offer where the membership fee has been fixed at Rs.200,000,” he said.

In July this year, CIAL announced a dividend of 10 percent, up from eight percent announced last year. The paid up capital of CIAL is Rs.300 crore.