In view of the aviation scenario, NRI population, trade potential and tourism development of Kerala, the Government has decided to build an International Airport at in Kannur district, a northern state of Kerala, India. The site at Moorkhanparambu was selected by the Airport Authority of India after the survey and recommendations with due considerations to its topographical and environmental merits. Construction of a leveled platform for airports in mountainous areas always requires huge cutting opera-tion in uphill and filling operations in downhill. In order to support the cut slopes and to stabilize the fill slopes, high retaining structures deemed necessary. However, the selection of a suitable retention system for the runway end safety area (RESA) was challenging due to the vast stretches of laterite capped hill-ocks in Kannur which is having excellent geotechnical properties at dry state and very low consistency at wet state. Also, it was essential that the selected system should act a firm foundation as well as it should be able to bear the high loading of aircraft. Further, an embankment fill with total height ranging from 66 m to 87 m was constructed to support the RESA. The embankment fill consists of a relatively shallow un-reinforced slope below the airport operational perimeter road and a steep top reinforced soil slope with a maximum height of 68 m using composite reinforced soil structure. Bioengineering measures has also been adopted to protect the slope surface from erosion. The design and analysis of the reinforced slopes were done by limit equilibrium method confirming to the international standards and wetted by finite ele-ment analysis. The structure is still under construction.
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