Chennai Airport to commence work on second domestic terminal

Chennai’s Anna International Airport, to commence work on second domestic terminal within two months
Residents oppose expansion of existing airport
By Lakshmi Vishwanath | Chennai

Chennai’s Anna International Airport, will commence work on the construction of the second domestic terminal, within the next two months and is expected to be completed in 28 months. “It will have two-level terminals with departure area on first floor and arrival area on ground floor covering 67,000 sq. meters. It will also have three aerobridges, Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) terminals and other state-of-the-art facilities,” informed Dinesh Kumar, Airport Director, Chennai International Airport. Further, an aerobridge will be added to the international arrival terminal, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. Apart from this, four aerobridges will be constructed in both, domestic and international terminals.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to invest Rs 1,800 crore, for extending the second runway of the existing airport and overall expansion. The Government of Tamil Nadu is still in the process of acquiring land for this extension, partly owing to protests from residents, whose lands are within the area set aside for acquisition. According to the residents, expansion of the airport will cause floods during rainy season. Excess water from the Chembarampakkam Lake (which is seven km near the proposed site) that is let out into the Adyar River causes floods in the airport land every year. The extension of the second runway across the Adyar River is expected to cause more floods in localities close to the airport. According to official sources, from an annual growth rate of 11 per cent in 2001-2002, passenger movement in Chennai has shot up to 51 per cent in 2006-2007. The international passenger traffic handled by Chennai airport in 2006-07 was 2.80 million compared to 2.60 million in 2005-06.

Source : TravelBizMonitor