The new terminal at the Cochin airport, constructed by the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will be inaugurated on Friday 26th February, two months ahead of schedule.
Steadily increasing passenger traffic has necessitated the need for the new terminal that covers an area of over 15 lakh square feet. The terminal is said to have peak capaticy to handle about 4000 passengers, and upto 15 aircraft employing aerobridges. The area of the existing terminal will go up over five-fold once the new terminal is commissioned. Numerous check-in counters and an expansive parking area are said to be other highlights of the new terminal. T3 has been designed keeping the Kerala aesthetics in mind – with the design reflecting characteristic Kerala motifs such as temple architecture themes and fibre elephants in all their regalia and finery! Don’t let the elephants fool you though – the terminal will house world class facilities and state-of-the-art equipment on par with global bests.
CIAL has been a path-breaker in the approach adopted in many ways. In August 2015, the airport became the world’s first airport to be completely powered by solar energy.
Cochin Airport : World’s first to be powered entirely by solar energy image credit: facebook.com
While the new terminal was scheduled to be opened in May this year, the government seems to have hastened with the ‘inauguration’, thanks to the upcoming Kerala assembly elections. While the officials will bask in their moment of glory, the terminal is likely to be open for commercial operations only after May 2016. Work is still in progress in some sections, and requisite clearances will also need to be obtained. All operations will get upgrades once the terminal is commissional, with international flights using the new terminal, and domestic traffic moving up to the old international terminal.
The terminal is touted to have cost about Rs. 1000 crore. In addition to the new terminal, the government will also take credit for a commercial complex and a new approach road to the airport.
The elections seem to be the surest way to galvanize government machinery into action!
