By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The government will build a new terminal at Incheon International Airport by 2015 as part of efforts to develop it into a transportation hub, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Monday.
According to the airport expansion plan, the second terminal will be built on 350,000 square meters of land, while the size of the current terminal is 496,000 square meters and the satellite concourse is 166,000 square meters. The number of gates the new terminal will have has not been decided on yet.
``The new terminal will be energy efficient by using renewable energy, such as solar power, in line with the government's `green growth' policy,'' a ministry official said.
The terminals will be connected with each other by the underground ``Starline'' train, which currently links the first terminal and the concourse.
The current cargo terminal will also be expanded. A logistics complex will be set up, along with more roads and railways connecting the new facilities to the existing ones.
The government expects the airport to be capable of handling 62 million passengers per year after the construction, up from the current 44 million, and 5.8 million tons of cargo, up from the current 4.5 million tons.
The total cost is estimated at about 4 trillion won ($3.1 billion). ``Incheon International Airport Corporation's profit, which is 200 billion won to 300 billion won per year, will be used for the project,'' the official said.
The construction will start in early 2011. ``We plan to complete it by 2015, but the completion can be changed according to air travel demand,'' he said.
The official said the project will help Incheon become a hub airport in Northeast Asia, as it competes with rival airports in neighboring countries, such as Pudong in Shanghai, Chek Lap Kok in Hong Kong and Changi in Singapore, which are also expanding their facilities for the same goal.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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