New Delhi

If airports are an indication of a country’s economic progress, then India has certainly arrived on the world stage. While China may have been the first to draw world attention by building state-of-the-art transport systems, its Asian neighbour is now catching up, projecting the new, swanky Terminal 3 (T3) at IGI as an example of country’s growing prosperity and confidence. Integrated T3 will be opened for passengers in mid-July.

Three years after the foundation stone was laid in February 2007, T3 will be inaugurated by PM Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on July 3. T3 boasts of being the eighth largest passenger terminal in the world, equipped to handle 34 million passengers annually. The new terminal, with spacious interiors, once operational will cater to over half of Delhi’s air traffic. Foreigners arriving at the airport will immediately get a feel of India — the country’s cultures will be showcased through graphic designs on the walls and unique installation arts.

The complex has been constructed using ‘North Light’ concept that maximizes illumination while cutting down on solar gain. According to GMR backed Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the civil structural works at all nine levels of the terminal building have been completed.

Passenger comfort is top priority here. The in-line baggage handling system (BHS) has a capacity to handle 12,800 bags per hour. Passengers will no longer have to get their baggage screened by themselves. They just have to submit their baggage at the airline counter from where it will undergo five levels of checks. “If bags are not cleared till the third screening level, they will be sent to the CTX machine which does a 360 degree study of the contents. If the bag does not clear this screening also, then it goes for manual screening,” said a DIAL official. BHS has an automatic bag tag reader which captures the information on each individual bag which is stored in the sort allocation computer and the baggage data is made available at any point of time.

For shopaholics, 20,000 sq. m. of retail area offers duty-free stores. Passengers will get the feel of a shopping mall inside the terminal with the best of Indian and international brands. Lounges, nap and shower rooms have been added along with popular eateries. Spread across a footprint of 5.4 million sq. ft., the building has sprawling piers which measure 1.2 km. from one end to the other.

DIAL has engaged Munich Airport International (MUC), the experts in Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) programme, for trials and transfer of airport operations to T3. Outside, a multi-level car parking in front of the terminal building is touted as the answer to the airport’s parking woes. With a capacity of 4300 cars, this is the largest multi-level car parking facility in India. A separate surface parking area is also available for 2200 cars. To ease the approach to terminal and travel through the city, Metro line from city centre will also be operational by September 2010. By the end of landscaping work, over 9 lakh trees and plants will also be planted here.

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