Nearly 75 percent of the civil work has been finished at the T3 International terminal at Chennai Airport. | Photo Credit: SRINATH M
Top officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), New Delhi reviewed the progress of the upcoming T3 International Terminal at Chennai airport and specified that the building be completed by April 2027.
A comprehensive review was primarily held to take stock of the current status of the terminal, which is part of the phase-II modernisation work, and also to look at ways to improve passenger facilities at the airport.
The T3 Terminal, which is under construction for a couple of years now, has been reeling under delays and the deadline was recently again pushed from December 2026 to April 2027. Nearly 75 percent of the civil work has been finished so far at the terminal. This terminal, spanning 86,135 sq.metres., will expand Chennai airport’s passenger-handling capacity to 35 million passengers annually.
Sources said, Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, was particular that there should be no further delays in completing the terminal. He had also noted that the airport should be as efficient as private airports in terms of meeting deadlines and improving passenger amenities.
One of the key points during the discussion was ways to improve the signage within and outside the terminals, sources added. In the past few weeks, quite a lot of signage were added at the airport, and bids have been called for the overall improvement of the signage in all three terminals of the airport. There will likely be another inspection at the airport by Mr. Sinha next month.
Mr. Sinha was also briefed about the proposed plan of the Tamil Nadu government regarding the construction of the T5 Terminal, near the remote bays of the airport and about the recent discussions between AAI and the Tamil Nadu government. A few weeks back, one of the secretaries from the Prime Ministers’ Office who travelled via Chennai airport was also briefed about projects, improvements planned and the upcoming proposals.
Published - October 21, 2026 05:30 am IST