The expansion plan for the Tiruchi International Airport got a fillip with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) beginning work on a new passenger terminal building to cater to future demands.
The construction of a new terminal building was necessitated as the existing one had reached saturation level in view of the sharp rise in passenger traffic growth.
The AAI has engaged a French company M/s. EGIS as the Project Management Consultancy (PMC) to prepare the design and plan for the new passenger terminal building incorporating local themes along with a new Air Traffic Control Tower – cum – Technical Block and for other works.
The detailed plan and design for the swanky terminal building would be drawn up by the French PMC, said Mr. Sanjeev Jindal, General Manager (Engineering), AAI, New Delhi.
The AAI had prepared an initial master plan of the Tiruchi airport based on which the PMC would make a detailed plan for the upcoming project, he added. The new terminal building would come up on an area of 67,500 square metres with basement and air side corridor.
Mr. Jindal along with Ms. Charul Shukla, Joint General Manager (Architecture), AAI, New Delhi and a four-member PMC team visited the Tiruchi airport and inspected the project site on Thursday and Friday besides holding discussions with AAI officials regarding finalization and commencement of the upcoming project.
The AAI has sanctioned ₹897 crore for the project which would encompass construction of a two-level integrated passenger terminal building with multi-level car parking facility besides a new Apron, new isolation bay and an array of other facilities, Mr. Sanjeev Jindal said.
The new building would have a capacity to handle 3.52 million passengers per annum with its ‘peak hour’ handling capacity being 2,700 passengers including 2,200 international travellers.
“If everything goes as per plan, the project is expected to start in March 2018 and will be completed in a period of three years”, Mr. Jindal told reporters here on Friday. Based on the design prepared by the PMC, the project execution would be done by another agency for which tenders would be called for in December.
The PMC would, however, monitor the pace of the entire project including the quality of the materials to be used, he further said.
Land was not a constraint for the construction of the new terminal building along with other facilities as the AAI had adequate site near the existing terminal building, Ms. Charul Shukla said.
The new building would be on par with other international airports in the world, Mr. Jindal said adding that it would be designed and constructed in such way to cater to the growth in another 15 years.
Environmental clearance
The AAI had obtained the environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests last month ahead of the execution of the mega project.
