Demolition of Chennai Airport’s Terminal 3 starts next month in the next phase of an ambitious modernisation project, The Hindu newspaper reports.
The project replaces two old terminals with a new Terminal 2 designed by New Delhi-based Creative Group in association with US practices Frederic Schwartz Architects and Gensler.
Planners expect it to take around three months to demolish Terminal 3, built in 1988 as the main international terminal.
It shut to international arrivals in July. International departures were moved to the new T4 in 2013 in the first phase of the airport’s modernisation.
The first phase of the new Terminal 2 opened in April.
When complete in 2025, T2 will occupy a 136,400 sq m site between the existing T4 and T1, and will handle international departures and arrivals.
The old T2 has already been demolished.
The new T2 will have state-of-the-art passenger and baggage handling technology, including 11 automated tray retrieval systems in security, six self-bag drops, a passenger flow monitoring system equipped with 3D sensors, and e-gates for boarding.
Chennai (formerly Madras) is India’s fourth busiest airport and the main international gateway to the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The first phase of the modernisation increased the airport’s capacity from 23 million to 30 million. The second phase will kick that up to 50 million.
