TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (桃園國際機場) has seen its passenger volume rebound to over 90% of its 2019 peak, with 45 million travelers expected in 2024. This surge has exceeded the combined capacity of Terminals 1 and 2, prompting a push to complete Terminal 3 (第三航廈).
CECI Engineering Consultants (台灣世曦工程顧問公司) project manager Sung Chien-hung (宋建宏) noted that Terminal 3 construction includes the terminal building, airport aprons, runways, and boarding gates. The terminal's main building covers 100,000 square meters, equivalent to 16 football fields. Workers have used special techniques to create 16 giant pillars from 6-cm thick steel sheets to support the roof, with the longest span reaching 72 meters.
The construction site, located above the airport's metro system, requires 24-hour monitoring during excavation and backfilling. Terminal 3's total cost has reached nearly NT$130 billion, making it Taiwan's largest single investment since the "Ten Major Construction Projects" (十大建設).
Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC, 桃園國際機場公司) Senior Vice President Sun Hung-pin (孫宏彬) stated that upon completion, Terminal 3's main building and concourses will handle up to 20 million passengers. The north concourse, expected to be operational by mid-2025, will accommodate approximately 5.8 million travelers.
Currently, Terminals 1 and 2 handle 30 million passengers, making capacity management critical. Despite being 1% behind schedule, Terminal 3 is set to alleviate the load on the existing terminals and enhance overall service quality. Once fully operational, the combined capacity of all three terminals will reach 82 million passengers.
