Rs 2500 cr terminal to come up at Chennai airport: AAI official

CHENNAI: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) on Friday confirmed the construction of a new terminal in Chennai.

The new terminal will be set-up at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore under phase II of the Chennai airport modernisation programme, the official confirmed.

“We are going to develop a new terminal at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore and it will be ready in 42-45 months. That is our anticipation”, Airport Director, AAI (Chennai), G Chandramouli, confirmed.

Commenting on the increase in traffic and passengers, he said that passenger traffic has witnessed a 20 percent growth in the last three months and if this trend continued, the existing terminal would not be able to handle it.

“The new terminal, coming up under the Phase II modernisation programme, would be able to handle the increase in arrivals and departures,” he added.

AAI Member for Finance S Suresh said that 60 percent of the funding would be from borrowing and the rest would be handled from internal resources.

“With regard to the borrowings, AAI will study the market before deciding whether to go for project loans or for an issue through domestic bonds,” he said.

Suresh pointed out that the union government had last week approved Rs 9,430 crore to be taken as a loan in the next five years, for modernisation of airports.

“For this fiscal, they have sanctioned Rs 1,500 crore”, he said.

To another query, Chandramouli said, demolition of the existing domestic terminal has been completed to an extent.

“Larsen and Toubro have started excavation work. Site preparation has started. Getting approval from the State Pollution Control Board is in final stages”, he said.