The new passenger terminal at Tiruchi airport is being built taking into account the growth potential and will take care of the requirements of the people of the region for more than a decade, said Sanjeev Jindal, Executive Director, Engineering, Southern Region, and CSR, Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The terminal is being built at an estimated cost of ₹872 crore and is expected to be completed by December 2022. The Apron, sanctioned at a cost ₹63 crore, is scheduled for completion by March 2021, he said.
“We want to gift the most aesthetically designed terminal in the country to this holy place. Our objective is to build a terminal that captures the spirituality of the place and at the same time offers the best infrastructure. Its unique and iconic design will be a combination of heritage and modern architecture. It will be one of the best terminal internationally ,” Mr.Jindal said after inspecting the progress of construction of the new terminal here on Saturday.
Though a six-months extension has been given for projects in view of the lockdown, there will be no cost escalation due to the pandemic, he said expressing satisfaction over the progress and the quality of the work.
The AAI shared the artistic impressions of the new passenger terminal on the occasion.
The new terminal, spread over an area of 61,634 square metres, is estimated to handle around 3.63 million passengers a year, on full capacity. It will be able handle 2,900 passengers at peak hour against 470 passengers handled by the existing terminal.
The two-level air-conditioned modular integrated terminal will have an ornamental roof resembling the famous gopurams of south Indian architecture, which reflect the identity and culture of the region. The entrance atrium will be a massive double-heighted space with its walls adorned with art and crafts of Tiruchi and Tamil Nadu.
The terminal architecture will endeavour to express the position of Tiruchi as a strategic location and reflect the colourful multi-layered traditional architecture even while conforming to basic principles of symmetry, geometry, colour combinations and multi layered façade in a contemporary manner, the AAI said.
The large-span design will have minimum columns to create unrestricted flow of passengers inside the terminal. It will have 48 check-in counters, 40 immigration counters, 10 aero bridges, 15 security X-ray machines, and a fully automated baggage handling system with latest security features. About 15% of the terminal will be commercial area. The terminal will have a parking area to accommodate about 1000 cars
The terminal will aim to achieve GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) 4 star rating with several green and sustainability features. It will have a roof top 300Kw solar power generation system and will be run almost entirely on solar energy. The use of double glazed façade would allow natural light into the building and restrict heat entry, Mr.Jindal said.
P.Sree Krishna, General Manager, Engineering-Projects, Tiruchi, S.Dharmaraj, Airport Director, and other officials were present.
