It is easy to develop a greenfield airport project but complex to undertake major upgrade works while operations are going on in full swing. The Chennai airport is an example, where the new integrated terminal building was developed for the last four years without disturbing the airport’s operations.
“It is not easy to do major upgradation works when airport operations are going on. But, we did it without any hassle,” said an official at the Chennai airport.
The existing airport cannot be extended as doing that would require 400 acres of land. The airport is surrounded by Defence land, Adyar River, a hillock, and a dense habitat. The airport can only be upgraded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will inaugurate the New Integrated Terminal Building of the Chennai airport. “This will be an important addition to Chennai’s infrastructure. It will boost connectivity and also benefit the local economy,” he tweeted. Incidentally, he laid the foundation stone for the project in 2018.
The Chennai airport modernisation phase II is planned in two stages at a total cost of ₹2,467 crore. The first stage (at ₹1,260 crore) has seen the dismantling of the existing domestic terminal T-2 with an area of 19,250 sq m for the construction of a new facility.
International Terminal T-3, with an area of 42,300 Sq.m, is set to be demolished and rebuilt for phase II work after the commissioning of phase I by March 2023.
The new terminal, which will function as one large integrated terminal for international operations having a total area of 2,20,972 sq m, will enhance the present capacity of handling 22 million passengers per annum (MPPA) to nearly 35 MPPA by December 2024.
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The new terminal and its interiors will reflect an array of aesthetic elements taken from the rich cultural repository of Tamil Nadu. The inimitable design will incorporate traditional elements expressed in Tamil culture predominantly from dance, music, folk arts, and theatre. Wall art and murals will endow a refreshing hue to the terminal interiors, while the ‘Kolam’ patterns on floors and ceiling will amuse passengers.
Sharad Kumar, Chennai Airport Director, in September 2021 told businessline that before Covid-19 hit the country, the airport was having double-digit growth in both passenger and air cargo. However, the airport building was getting saturated. The airport then had a design capacity to annually handle only 17 million passengers but was handling around 22 million. During peak hours, it was difficult to have enough space in the terminal. There were also a bunching of flights.
“Chennai does not have enough land space. Every inch of space inside the airport is being utilised. The expansion will help the airport to handle 35 million passengers,” he then said.
The modernisation Phase II will include integration of the airside corridor for a seamless flow, augmentation of contact bays, provision of the multi-level car park, and metro rail connectivity, strengthening its multi-model connectivity, the Ministry of Civil Aviation tweeted.
Aviation expert Mohan Ranganathan says, “The modernisation of Chennai airport being done with inflated projected numbers will only lead to more haphazard conditions. It is not just space inside but important to have easy access and exit to terminals.”
“They need land to expand the secondary runway. They can never install an Instrument Landing System (ILS) on that runway. Without ILS, it can only be a non-precision runway and no wide-body a/c will land. It is all to get real estate free to sell off to a private player,” he added.