Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the new international terminal (T3) at the Cochin International Airport on Saturday along with the new four-lane road and overbridge leading to the airport from the National Highway.
The Chief Minister will also launch the capacity enhancement of the solar power plant at the airport on the same day. The inaugural function is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The new terminal is spread over 15 lakh sq.ft with modern amenities and an apron spread over 25 lakh sq.ft. The facilities have been built at a cost of ₹1,025 crore.
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The airport has already received security clearance from various government agencies for commencement of operations.
To smoothen traffic to and from the airport, a new railway overbridge has been built. The road leading to the airport has been broadened to four lanes. The works cost ₹98 crore.
The CIAL, which is the first airport in the world to run solely on solar power, will enhance its solar power generation capacity to accommodate the requirements of the new international terminal.
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The power generation capacity will be scaled up from the present 15.5 MWp to 21.5 MWp. The airport will spend around ₹30 crore on the first phase of the solar power venture.
The terminal has five entry gates, 84 check-in counters and 80 immigration/emigration counters.
The building has world-class commercial facilities such as snack bars, food courts, retail shops, viewers’ gallery, ATM counters, foreign exchange counters, business-class lounges, pharmacy, and medical inspection rooms.
The baggage handling system will have the country’s first 360-degree CT-based four in-line scanners with 3D imaging facility.
Seamless and speedy handling of baggage will be carried out using modern conveyor belts stretching up to 5.5 km with 777 drives and flight-wise and airline-wise sorting mechanisms. There will be 10 aerobridges.
The new terminal will have state-of-the-art security equipment.