30% capacity boost in six yrs for airport’s terminal 1
Times of India | 29 July 2024
Kolkata: The current integrated terminal (T-1) at Kolkata airport is set to undergo 30% capacity augmentation in six years. Built in 2013, the 2.6 crore passengers per annum (ppa) capacity terminal caters to both domestic and international passengers. It is currently undergoing a mini-expansion to add another 20 lakh ppa. By 2030, it will be repurposed to be an exclusive domestic terminal with 3.4 crore ppa capacity.
By then, a new 1.1 crore ppa terminal-2 (T-2) will come up on the northern side of the existing terminal.T-2 will then become an integrated facility to serve both domestic and international passengers. The capacity augmentation of the current terminal will be done without any major construction, but by utilizing the space within the facility.
Speaking to TOI, Kolkata airport director, Pravat Ranjan Beuria, explained that once the international wing shifts out of the present terminal, it will free up a lot of space that is currently used by immigrations and Customs.
Hence, although the airport will build a 1.1 crore ppa terminal at a cost of Rs 4,200 crore, the project will lead to a capacity augmentation of 1.7 crore ppa. “Thus, by 2030-31, Kolkata airport will have a capacity of 4.5 crore ppa that will be sufficient to cater to traffic till 2047,” Beuria added. While T-1 currently has 18 aerobridges, once T-2 is in place, the aerobridge count will go up to 30. Construction of the new terminal— expected to start in a year—will be done in two phases. In the first phase, the main terminal building will be built along with one concourse jutting into the apron area from the southern end. In the next phase, the other concourse will be built at the northern end of the terminal.
“We have to develop it in phases to allow the delay in demolition of the ATS building as the services have to be continued till parallel operations are in place in the new ATC tower and technical blocks,” the official said.