GUWAHATI, Jan 23 - The new integrated terminal building at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here is expected to be completed in three years time.
Airports Authority of India Regional Executive Director DK Kamra today told The Assam Tribune that the foundation stone for the Rs 1,232 crore project would be laid by Union Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju on January 28.
The work has been bagged by Mumbai-based Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
Kamra said the new terminal will have an area of 90,000 square metres.
�It will have two levels, like the one at T3 in New Delhi airport. The departures will be from the first floor, while the arrivals would be from the ground level. We hope to complete the project in three years time,� the official said.
The current terminal at the airport was around 22,000 square metres, but expansion work was undertaken on it recently.
�We have gone for a revamp over the last two months and the existing terminal has been increased to around 26,000 square metres. We have added features like air conditioning, CCTV cameras, granite flooring, canopy, etc.,� he said.
The current terminal at the LGBI airport has a capacity to handle 1,250 passengers (per hour) at the peak hour. Around 75 flights operate from the airport daily as of now.
The peak hour capacity is likely to be enhanced to 3,100 passengers after the completion of the new integrated terminal. There will be 64 check-in counters, eight immigration counters, as many customs counters, six arrival carousels, ten aerobridges, as many escalators, one travelator, 25 elevators, 20 aircraft parking bays, 16 self baggage drop counters and 16 automatic sortation & in-line CTX machines.
A small internal green forest feature providing nature connect, bamboo artifacts and a craft village have been integrated into the overall design of the new terminal which will have state-of-the-art facilities.
The present saturated terminal handled 3.8 million passengers in 2016-17, showing an increase of 36 per cent over the previous year. The airport handles 796 movements per week, covering domestic and international destinations.
