Chennai, Sept 12:
With passenger traffic at Chennai airport continuing to rise, the much-delayed Phase II expansion project has come under renewed scrutiny, with Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman Vipin Kumar and senior officials inspecting the ongoing construction works and directing officials to speed up the project.
Chennai airport handled around 2.2 crore passengers in 2015. The number has steadily increased over the years and crossed three crore in 2025, putting increasing pressure on the existing infrastructure and highlighting the need for additional terminal capacity.
Against this backdrop, the AAI decided in 2017 to expand Chennai airport. The Centre subsequently approved the project and allocated funds for the expansion, which was planned in two phases at a total estimated cost of Rs 2,467 crore.
The expansion covers around 2.36 lakh square metres. The first phase was planned over 1.49 lakh square metres at a cost of Rs 1,260 crore, while the second phase covers 86,135 square metres at an estimated cost of Rs 1,207 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the new integrated terminal building at Chennai airport in April 2023. Following this, three existing terminal buildings that had been functioning as the international terminal were demolished to make way for the second phase of the integrated terminal.
However, the Phase II construction has progressed much slower than originally scheduled.
The second phase was initially expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and made operational by March 2026. The new terminal was planned with eight entry gates, 60 check-in counters, 10 X-ray scanners, nine remote boarding gates and eight aerobridges.
The arrivals section is also to have modern baggage conveyor systems, along with advanced automated scanning equipment for detecting and screening items carried in passengers’ baggage.
Once operational, the new terminal is expected to significantly increase Chennai airport’s handling capacity, enabling it to handle more than 3.5 crore, or 35 million, passengers annually.
According to officials, the construction work, installation of infrastructure and equipment and testing were all expected to have been completed before the terminal became operational by March 2026. However, only around 45 per cent of the construction work is now said to have been completed.
One of the major reasons cited for the delay is the withdrawal of one or two contractors who had taken up portions of the project. The contractors are understood to have expressed their inability to execute the works at the rates quoted in their original tenders due to the increase in the prices of construction materials.
The AAI has since been taking steps to bring in new construction agencies and resume the stalled or delayed works. Officials have also been instructed to accelerate the construction so that the project does not face further slippage.
The AAI had earlier set a revised target of completing all construction works by the end of 2026 and bringing the new Terminal 3 into operation by March 2027.
However, with construction still progressing slowly, officials now feel that even the revised deadline could be difficult to meet. Once the civil works are completed, considerable time will be required for installing infrastructure, machinery and passenger-handling systems, followed by testing and trial operations.
As a result, the new terminal may become operational only towards the end of 2027 if the present pace of work continues, according to sources.
It was against this backdrop that AAI Chairman Vipin Kumar, accompanied by senior officials, inspected the construction of the new integrated terminal. During the inspection, officials were directed to ensure that there was no further delay and to take all possible measures to accelerate the remaining works.