PM Modi inaugurates new terminal building of Chennai airport

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the first phase of the newly integrated terminal at the Chennai airport, which is worth the Rs 1,260 crore.  The new terminal is part of the Chennai Airport Modernisation Phase II.

For the inauguration of the terminal building, PM Modi arrived in Chennai after spending a few hours in Hyderabad. Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalinand Governor R N Ravi gave him a warm welcome at the airport.

Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the new terminal inauguration at Chennai airport will make Tamil Nadu a gateway to not only South India but to the whole of India. 

Speaking to the media, Scindia said: “Today is a very important day in the history of Chennai. Chennai reflects the potential of India. The capacity of Chennai airport will increase by 50% today.”

Some of the prominent features of the airport are:

1.   The new terminal building at Chennai Airport is built in an area of 2,20,972 sqm and has been constructed to address the growing air traffic in the state of Tamil Nadu. 

2.    It has been developed at the cost of Rs 1,260 crore, and can handle 35 million passengers yearly. 

3.    The new terminal is based on the GRIHA standards. GRIHA stands for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment, which has been developed to evaluate the environmental performance of buildings and habitats. 
4.    There will be 54 immigration counters at the arrival and departure counters to ease the transit procedures. 

5. Phase I of the new terminal will have 100 state-of-the-art check-in counters to speed up departures. Self-baggage drop kiosks will also be available so that check-in can be faster and hassle less. 

6.    The security screening will be faster with 11 Automatic Tray Retrieval Systems (ATRS) in place for screening carry-on baggage so that passengers can have smooth clearance. 

7.    The terminal has the unique feature of Skylight. It will harvest natural light to illuminate the area inside the building and will cut down energy consumption. 

Hyderabad visit

During his Hyderabad visit, PM Modi launched a scathing attack on Telangana's ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and its chief K Chandrashekar Rao accusing him of obstructing the Centre's development projects and indulging in 'parivarvaad' (family rule) and corruption.

Addressing a public rally in Hyderabad, PM Modi said that the state government was not cooperating with the Centre in implementing various schemes and initiatives that would benefit the people of Telangana, which will hold elections later this year.

"I am pained at the non-cooperation of the state government in the centre's projects. This is affecting the dreams of the people of Telangana. I appeal to the state government to not allow any obstruction in developments being planned for Telangana people," PM Modi said.

Without naming KCR, Modi said: "A handful of people who encourage 'parivarvaad' are trying to see where they can reap benefits from projects being implemented for the people of Telangana."