The project that will be completed in about 18 month will enhance the passenger capacity of the international terminal to nearly 1,600 from the existing 500, easing to a great extent the traffic load of the existing infrastructure.

The new terminal, having both the arrival and the departure sections, will have many firsts for the Ahmedabad airport. Besides having separate taxi and VIP car parkings, there will be half a kilometre-long Inter-linked Terminal (ILT), which will connect the domestic and the international airports, making the changeover of flights hassle-free. This will also help in making the airport as an international transit hub, in turn, reducing the burden at the Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Another first is the coming up of four aerobridges at the terminal to facilitate the movement of passengers from the aircraft to the terminal building. Once ready, the domestic and the international terminals will together have enough room to park 33 aircraft. It will also have sufficient room to welcome the world’s largest commercial aircraft, the Airbus-380, which the Kingfisher Airlines will be getting here by 2010.

After the new terminal becomes operational, the existing international terminal will be exclusively used for handling cargo.

The total cost of the two-phase project is Rs 202 crore. The Italian Thai Development (ITD)-Pratibha Consortium, Mumbai that took the first phase work for the terminal building measuring 225 x 88 metres, will be completing it at a cost of Rs 122 crore.

The second phase of the extension work of the terminal building of 45 x 88 metres is being done by M S Khurana Engineering Limited at Rs 80 crore.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials refused to comment on the media reports that the Civil Aviation Ministry has approved the AAI, Ahmedabad to impose a User Development Fee (UDF) of Rs 300 on passengers from next year.

N S Jaldhari, General Manager (projects), AAI Ahmedabad said, “I have nothing to say on this.”