Pandemic delays terminal building expansion work at MIA

Mangaluru: The expansion of the terminal building of Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), that was scheduled for completion in September, has got delayed due to the pandemic. Executed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the project entailed an addition of 10,000 sq mt to the existing terminal building, that is already spread over 18,000 sq mt. This work is now expected to be completed by April 2021.
AAI has initiated the expansion work towards the city side of the terminal, abutting the existing international or domestic arrival area. The project will facilitate AAI to separate its arrival and departure operations at MIA, a norm at international airports globally, said airport director V V Rao. “Our initial estimation in October last year was that the work would be completed by September,” Rao said. As of now, nearly 70% of the work is complete.
Arriving passengers will exit the terminal building directly through the car park level. Rao said arrival and departure that take place at the same level now, creates confusion, especially during peak hours. The new arrival hall will come up on the lower ground floor level, and be equipped with three conveyor belts as against the one now, and both domestic and international arrivals will have three belts each, he said.
The expansion will also see the airport add two more aerobridges to take the total number to six, he said. Additional lifts and escalators will also be installed as part of this expansion project, said Rajeev Kumar Gupta, joint general manager (engineering-civil). Tensile fabric canopy will be installed at the new arrival hall. With suitable landscaping and food courts mooted, the new arrival hall will provide more comforts to the flyers, he noted.
At present, the contractor is going ahead with the work with local labourers and locally available material. “We expect manufacturing of materials critical for the expansion work, picks up in manufacturing hubs in North India by September,” Gupta said. Return of skilled labour, critical for the work, too will help in the work gathering pace, he said.