Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, on 1 November 2006, inaugurated work on the new terminal at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala.

Thiruvananthapuram is one of the first 35 non-metro airports in the country that is being taken up for development.

The new international terminal building, being built at an estimated cost of Rs.256.65 crore, will be completed in two phases. Airports Authority of India will use 55 acres of land for the project. The fully air-conditioned terminal will be capable of handling two AB 300 and one B 747 aircraft load.

During the peak hours, the terminal will be able to handle 500 arriving and 500 departing passengers. The terminal aims at handling annual traffic of 11.67 lakh passengers by 2010-11. The estimated project cost of the terminal complex is Rs.165.88 crore in the first phase and Rs.90.77 crore in the second phase.

It is proposed that the new terminal building shall be provided with at least two aero-bridges in the first phase and an apron to park four wide-bodied aircraft with two in-contact and two remote stands.

The PM also laid the foundation stone for a Rs.50 crore aircraft maintenance base of Air India at the  Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.

City-side development: In an independent development, the Attorney General has reportedly advised private sector developers for city-side development of 35 non-metro airports to refrain from setting up commercial and leisure facilities. Such facilities would typically include malls, golf courses, sports and shopping complexes, convention centres, etc. The AG has advised private companies to restrict their development plans to facilitating travel  and those that have direct relationship to the functioning of airports.

Recursive Links:

AAI to attract private sector funds for non-metro airports (26-Oct-06)

Related Links:
Project profile