In June, the old international terminal (T3) will be demolished to make way for the construction of the remaining portion of the new integrated terminal at Chennai Airport.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April inaugurated phase I of the new integrated terminal of the Chennai airport.
Phase II construction would start soon. The old T3 will be demolished and the remaining components of the terminal will be built under it.
Terminal 1 (T1) and Terminal 4 (T4) will function as domestic terminals, operating simultaneously.
When the project is completed, the domestic terminal will run simultaneously at both ends, while the international terminal will operate in the centre of the airport.
Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said to finish building the remaining portion of the terminal, the T3 will be pulled down in June and after which the construction work will follow, reports The Hindu.
In September 2018, AAI started construction on the new terminal. The 1,97,000 sq m facility will cost around 2,500 crores and will be able to accommodate 35 million people annually. The project involves the construction of a large integrated terminal spanning 2,20,972 sq m.
It also includes a multi-level mechanised car park and integration of Metro rail.
Since its opening ten years ago, the arrival hall of the international terminal (T4) has remained underused for a variety of reasons. However, this facility is expected to open to travellers in July of this year. T4’s arrival hall will be operational in two months once it is transformed into a domestic terminal.
Delays caused by the pandemic and other factors led to the opening of a new integrated terminal for international air passengers by the end of this month after a recent inauguration.