Construction of second part of new integrated terminal at Chennai airport further delayed to June 2026

Delays in construction push back completion of Chennai airport's new terminal, now expected to be ready by August 2026.

As the construction work has been delayed, it may take longer to complete the second part of the new integrated terminal building (NITB) at Chennai airport that will handle international flight operations.

Officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said the work on NITB will be completed by June 2026 and it will be available for air passengers by August 2026. As of now, 25% of the work has been finished in the second part of NITB.

Six years back, AAI allocated ₹2,467 crore and kicked off the construction of Phase-II modernisation project. AAI envisaged a posh terminal with new facilities for international air passengers and the expansive building would let the airport handle up to 35 million passengers per year.

NITB’s construction was divided into two parts. After the first part of NITB was ready, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it two years back and it functions as an international terminal. The second part of NITB too will be deployed for international flight operations and AAI fixed December 2025 as the deadline for completion of construction. But the second part of NITB is plagued by delays and it has been revised to June 2026. Post inauguration, a rigorous inspection has to be done and the terminal will be ready for air passengers only by August next year, officials said.

Officials said they have been battling numerous difficulties after the construction work commenced nearly six years ago. When the pandemic hit the country, for nearly two years, the work faced a major setback. “But we got out of it, expedited the work and got the first part of the NITB commissioned at the earliest,” an official said.

Excavation and building the basement with hard rock like conditions made it challenging and the contractor delayed the work over cost escalation issues. “We have been putting our best efforts into this project and we will finish it for inauguration by June 2026,” he added.

Air passengers said they have been continuously witnessing some kind of construction work or the other at the airport for years now. R. Sivakumar, a frequent flyer, said: “It doesn’t feel nice to fly in and out of an airport which constantly has some construction or the other work going on. While delays can happen with infrastructure projects, there should be some accountability and the authorities have to find a way to wrap it up soon,” he added.