New terminal at Cochin airport to be inaugurated on Friday

Kochi: The new international passenger terminal at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), with a built up area of 15 lakh sq ft to deal with challenges in passenger traffic growth, will be inaugurated on Friday.

Commercial operations of the terminal would begin on May 26.

The terminal, known as Terminal-3 or T-3, will be dedicated to the nation on Friday by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, airport officials said.

The terminal has a peak-hour capacity to handle 4,000 passengers and has been constructed at a cost of over Rs 1,000 crore.

The international terminal currently operational at the airport will become part of existing domestic terminal after the new Terminal 3 becomes fully functional, they said.

Chandy laid the foundation stone of the new international passenger terminal in February 2014.

Salient features of the new international terminal are elevation to feature Kerala Temple architecture, two level terminal-arrival at ground level and departure at first-level, finger pier concept to handle 13-15 aircraft through aerobridges during peak operation.

At present, the international terminal can handle only five aircrafts.

The airport was the first in the country to be completely powered by solar power with the commissioning of a 12-MW solar project last year. Photovoltaic panels laid across 45 acres near the cargo complex produce 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day.

It is consumed for all operational functions, technically making the airport "absolutely power neutral".