Phase II modernisation work under way at the Chennai airport. AAI officials say they are planning to inaugurate the second portion in March next year. 
| Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ

Construction of the second portion of the new integrated terminal at Chennai airport has been delayed, and would be completed by March 2026. It would be open to members of the public by June 2026, officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said.

International flyers have been using only one portion of the new integrated terminal for the last two years. At an estimated cost of ₹2,467 crore, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had taken up the phase II modernisation work at the airport nearly six years ago to scale up the terminal space for accommodating more flyers. The objective was to enable the airport to handle 35 million passengers a year, up from 23 million passengers a year.

In 2023, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V.K. Singh, responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, said that the “probable date” of completion of the phase II work would be in July 2025. Later, the AAI said that the work would only be completed by December 2025. “There has been a delay owing to a few issues. Initially, the excavation was challenging because there was hard rock at the site, and we had to carry out controlled blasting. This slowed down the process. Subsequently, there was an issue with the contractor over cost escalation. The firm took up the project six years ago taking into account the cost of construction materials at the time. But naturally, with time, prices of these items will go up, and this should have been factored in. But they [contractor] wanted us to bear the cost escalation as well. We sorted it [the issue] out with them, but it took time,” an official said.

The terminal cannot be immediately opened after inauguration. The shifting and setting up of various facilities and a thorough inspection would require a few more months. Hence, the AAI has estimated that the terminal would be ready for passenger use by June 2026.