The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has shaken off the crippling days when it went under a sheet of water in August. The airport is back in business and how.

A new domestic terminal is scheduled to open in December, taking the area of domestic terminals from 1 lakh square feet to 6 lakh square feet.

The new terminal, which has been fashioned out of an old international terminal, will have 56 check-in counters, 11 gates, seven aero bridges, four escalators and eight elevators. It could handle about 2,000 passengers in an hour.

It also comes with a larger shopping area, 700 surveillance cameras and 1,300 multi-sensor fire detectors. The renovation has been done with an eye to press the terminal in service for the next 20 years.

The capacity of the solar farm will be increased from 29.1 megawatt to 40 megawatts to power the needs of the new terminal. The airport boasts of the largest 'carport' in the country (and the second largest in the world) after it built a parking area that can accommodate 1,300 cars. The parking area in front of the new international terminal is covered with solar panels with a generation capacity of 2.7 megawatts. It also added another 6 megawatts by installing 2 kilometre-long panels above a canal.

The CIAL has formed a special purpose vehicle in association with the state government to develop inland water transport from Bekal in the north to Kovalam in the south. CIAL's subsidiary, Kerala Waterways and Infrastructures Limited, is in charge of linking waterways in Kerala.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2020, giving a fillip to the tourism sector. The second and third phases will be completed in 2022 and 2025, respectively.