The Airports Authority of India's (AAI) Rs.300-crore world class terminal complex of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is to be formally commissioned on May 20.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel is to dedicate the three-storey terminal building, having a tubular structure of elliptical geometry, that has come up facing the Parvathi Puthanar on Chakka side. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan is to be the chief guest at the function.
A top AAI official told The Hindu that the works were in full swing to commission the terminal on May 20. The Kerala State Electricity Board would provide power from the 66 kV second feeder and the Kerala Water Authority the sewerage connection this week itself.
The 220-metre-long six-land bridge and two exclusive ramps connecting them from Chakka and Eenchakkal, constructed at a cost of Rs.21.73 crore by KITCO for the State government to connect the airport terminal to the National Highway 47 bypass had been completed .
The black topping of the road and the bridge that has come across the Parvathy Puthanar will commence on Friday. “It will be completed by Sunday evening,” a KITCO official said.
The AAI has completed the ramp to connect the approach road and the bridge to the parking bay in front of the terminal. The AAI is to take up the black topping.
Fully funded by the AAI, the terminal was constructed by Chennai-based Consolidated Construction Consortium. The terminal building, with a maximum height of 19 m, has all the modern facilities, including escalators and elevators.
The complex has 18 check-in counters, 20 immigration counters, 11 customs counters, two security gates, two baggage claim belts, a bus lounge and a Rs.5-crore sewerage system. The aerobridge procured from Indonesia has been installed.
The four parking bays, constructed at a cost of Rs.14.5 crore, has been integrated with the existing 3,398-metre-long runway of the airport. With this, the aircraft can now reach the new terminal building at the Chakka side.
Constructed using modern design concepts, the terminal building has been covered with heat reflecting toughened glass. The terminal will look like an aircraft from the tarmac.
Second phase
The Rs.80.58-crore second phase work for the Rs.245.58-crore terminal complex was also taken up along with the first phase. An additional 8,000 sq m of floor area was added with the lateral extension of the terminal building by 27 m on Karali side and 40 me on Chakka side. With this, the total floor area of the terminal complex has gone up to 30,000 sq m.
In the Rs.165-crore first phase, work of the Rs.115-crore terminal building, apron and car park that can accommodate 575 cars was taken up.
“The work for setting up the offices of the airlines and other stake-holders had commenced only recently and the terminal will start working only after a month,” the official said.
Labour disputes over unloading of construction materials, non-availability of construction materials, unseasonal rain and delay on the part of the State to construct the approach road led to the revision of the deadline for the completion of the project scheduled for December 2008.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Vijayakumar, accompanied by senior officials of the State and the AAI, is to inspect the terminal and review the progress of the work on Friday.
Of the 48.56 hectares needed for the project, the government had handed over 11.15 hectares. The AAI is seeking the remaining land for completing the last phase.
