Taipei, Nov. 18 (CNA) The Taichung International Airport began upgrade construction Monday, which is expected to increase the airport's capacity by 1 million passenger-visits, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said that day.
The NT$990 million (US$32.4 million) project, scheduled to be completed in 2022, will enable the airport to handle 3.69 million passengers per year, said CAA head Lin Kuo-shian at a groundbreaking ceremony.
The central Taiwan gateway accommodated a record-high 2.64 million visits in 2018, up 10 percent from the previous year, according to the CAA.
The upgrades will focus on the domestic terminal, adding one floor to the existing two-floor building and connecting them to the international terminal so that the best use of the available space is made, the CAA said.
There will be also more facilities such as jet bridges added to the airport, the administration said.
Also attending the ceremony, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung said that more improvement programs will be launched in the future, allowing the airport to handle more than 10 million visits per year by 2040.
The projects include better traffic connections such as an expressway extending directly from the Qingshui Service Area on the No. 3 freeway, he said.
