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Chennai airport will soon be the second in the country to be connected to a metro station. The station building spanning 17,300 sq. m. will be a five-level terminal comprising of a basement, ground floor, metro ground floor, concourse, and a platform.

The ‘bhoomipooja' for the construction of the station was performed on Thursday. While the architectural and structural design of the station will be carried out by AAI in consultation with M/S Creative Group, the interiors of the station will be designed by CMRL, said S. Bhaduri, Executive Director (engineering), Chennai Airport Project.

“The time frame for constructing the metro station is 14 months and the work has been awarded to M/s URC Construction Co. Pvt. Ltd. Erode, at a cost of Rs. 48 crore,” he said. To help passengers alight directly from the international and domestic terminals, the station will be linked to the glass connector tube that will connect the two terminals. “The station will be an RCC shell structure building with self supported secret fix aluminium roofing,” Mr. Bhaduri said.

CMRL will carry out mechanical and electrical work such as track laying, transmission lines and power supply. “The construction of the viaduct from the airport boundary up to Chennai Metro Rail corridor-I will be carried out by CMRL in the airport premises,” he said.

About the current status of the airport expansion project, Mr. Bhaduri said that work on passenger boarding bridges and procurement of in-line x-ray baggage system were underway.

While a successful arrival trial run was conducted earlier this month at the new domestic terminal, the trial run for departure will most likely be conducted by the end of the month after statutory clearances are sought, according to Mr. Bhaduri.

Once completed, the airport will be connected by the suburban rail network and the metro rail.

- The Hindu