The government will soon begin work on renovating Terminal 1 of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport that will give the 30-year-old building a complete makeover.
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Director-General Lee Lung-wen (李龍文) said his agency hoped to find qualified contractors for the project by June so construction could begin by August
Lee said that the project will include constructing dividing walls on the east and the west sides of the terminal, renovation of the arrival and departure halls on the first and third floors and building new parking garages.
The agency had planned to finish the entire project by the end of 2012, as work crews can only work on one small part of the building at any one time, Lee said.
However, Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) inquired whether the overhaul could be finished sooner and if it was necessary to shut down the terminal completely, Lee said.
The CAA may recommend that half of the terminal be closed for construction and the other half remain open, he said.
“Terminal 2 would not be able to handle the increased influx of passengers if we shut down terminal one,” he said.
The project will cost approximately NT$2 billion (US$57.4 million) and is expected to be complete by 2011.
The planned overhaul will increase Terminal 1’s capacity from 12 million passengers per year to 15 million.
Terminal Two can handle 17 million passengers per year.
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