Lucknow: The famous Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in the state capital, which is nearing saturation levels, is set for a makeover. With the Airports Authority of India (AAI) moving to invest Rs1,383 crore on a new integrated terminal building-T3-after dismantling Terminal 1, the airport would be able to handle around 14.4 million passengers per annum (MPPA) from the present 4.4 mn, an almost 230% jump in capacity.
The project entails the construction of a world-class passenger terminal and associated infrastructure, including an integrated terminal area of 84,000 sq m, retail area stretching over 15,000 sq m, GRIHA 4 Star environment rating, an additional basement area of 20,000 sq m, and a multi-level parking for 1,500 vehicles.
Talking to media persons, the airport’s director, AK Sharma, says, “While Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) has been selected as the project executor, Egis is the project management consultant. The project is scheduled for completion by 2021 end. With a capacity to handle 4,000 extra passengers during peak hours, the new airport is being designed to cater to passenger traffic up to 2031.”
Lucknow’s new T3 terminal airport to look like of Delhi-Mumbai after getting ready:
The Lucknow airport connects the capital of India’s most populous state to major Indian cities and countries in the Middle East. It is the 11th busiest airport in the country and has seen passenger traffic grow at an exponential rate, clocking a CAGR of 19.6% since 2008. “The new terminal building at Lucknow would be a major force multiplier for Uttar Pradesh’s growth,” Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu has said in a statement.
The airport currently operates 75 flights every day, of which 67 are domestic flights and eight, international. The expansion project needs to be seen against a backdrop of heavy congestion that the airport has been witnessing during peak hours. The number of flights operating from Lucknow is expected to go up to 200 per day after the airport is remodelled, AAI officials say.
In fact, work on increasing the length of the existing runway from 2.2 km to 3.1 km is underway. This is being done to allow operations of bigger aircraft like the Dreamliner, says Sharma, adding that the apron area would also be increased in size to allow parking of at least 22 aircraft.
The airport’s upgrade is a part of AAI’s larger plan to spend Rs 20,500 crore on aviation infrastructure over the next five years. Indian airports currently handle around 300 MPPA and have a terminal capacity of 334 MPPA, which is likely to be breached in the next two years. India boasts the fastest growing domestic air travel market in the world, which grew 17% in FY18.
