KOCHI: The domestic terminal of the Cochin International Airport will open its doors to travellers on Wednesday with a nostalgic ambience, as it showcases a new ‘ettukettu’ layout with an array of wood carvings, articulating the architectural heritage of the state.
The airport terminal, renovated to international standards at an expense of `240 crore, will be declared open by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at 4 pm on December 12. He will also inaugurate the solar power generation facility which has been upgraded from 30 MW to 40 MWp to meet the complete power needs of the airport.
The terminal space has been enhanced from 1 lakh sq ft to 6 lakh sq ft, in a bid to accommodate the increased volume of passengers. There will be 56 check-in counters and the new terminal has a capacity to handle 4,000 passengers per hour, which is five times the present capacity. Seven aero bridges and a state-of-the-art conveyor belt system facilitating transfer of baggage from 12 flights are added amenities.The international terminal, constructed at a cost of `1,100 crore was opened last year. The domestic terminal, reconstructed at record speed, will be opened to passengers by the third week of December, said an officer.
“The domestic aviation market in India has been witnessing a stupendous growth. The national year-on-year growth in this sector is 18 per cent, while CIAL has been experiencing 24 per cent growth. Already airline companies registered in India operate 559 aircraft. This will be doubled in the next five years. Airport operators need to address this growth. CIAL handled nearly 5 million domestic passengers in 2017-18. The domestic traffic will touch 10 million in another five years. All these factors were taken into consideration at each stage of renovation,” he said.
Solar panels have been installed on the roof of the car park at Terminal-1. With the commissioning of the new solar carport for Terminal-1, the total installed capacity of the carports will be 5.1 MWp, and it will house 2,600 cars. With this, CIAL has surpassed Wieze International Airport, Germany, the present record holder with an installation capacity 4 MWp. The airport will provide electric charging facility for 81 cars at a time. Organic farming will be taken up on around 10 acres under solar power panels.
Enchanting ambience