Lucknow Airport To Get A New Terminal; Adani Group Plans To Invest Rs 5,000 Crore

Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSIA) will soon get a massive upgrade.

The Adani Group plans to invest up to Rs 5,000 crore to upgrade the same.

Under this development, most of the capital expenditure initiatives are focused on a large integrated terminal and associated facilities, that will be added to the airport.

The objective is to expand aircraft movements and handle increased passenger capacity.

Presently, the combined passenger handling capacity of the existing two terminals of the airport is planned for 43 lakh flyers over a year.

The terminals are, however, handling nearly 55 lakh flyers, which is 28 per cent more than the airport’s built capacity.

As reported by Business Standard, officials shared that the airport will get an all new third terminal (T3) with a handling capacity of more than one crore flyers every year.

The first phase of the Terminal 3 is expected to open its doors to flyers by October 2023 with a capacity of handling 80 lakh passengers.

The second phase will bring in added capacity of 50 lakh passengers per year, which is expected to finish within another year.

Lucknow Airport International Limited (LIAL) has proposed additional plans for the T3 complex of the airport, which include designated areas for pick-up and drop-off of for taxi services, including Ola, Uber, and others.

These facilities will be aligned with a travel-related application that will offer transportation options to passengers.

Additionally, significant attention will be paid to planting new plants and saplings as well. With this, the Lucknow airport will have about one lakh indoor plants and planters and 1.5 lakh saplings.

LIAL, an Adani Group company and the body in charge of managing operations of the CCSI Airport has also sought a passenger tariff hike to pull funds for the development.

"The proposed increase in user development fees (UDF) is being compared with existing UDF rates of Lucknow International Airport while there is a huge gap between the proposed and existing infrastructure. The proposed UDF rates at Lucknow Airport are in line with other major airports with similar infrastructure," a CCSIA spokesperson said.

The airport authority has environmental clearance to take capacity up to almost four crore flyers per annum given the potential of the place.

The official further said, "As the capital, Lucknow is the centre for all business activities in the state, our endeavour for the proposed infrastructural development at CCSIA is to establish a viable and sustainable business ecosystem."

"This includes enhancing the airport's catchment area, creation of airport infrastructure in accordance with projected traffic, ensuring safe and efficient airport operations along with a brand promise of being a pleasant experience for our passengers at Lucknow," he added.