Delhi’s new airport terminal set for formal inauguration Saturday

NEW DELHI - The swank new terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, touted among the largest and most modern in the world, is all set for formal inauguration Saturday.

The actual operations for international services begin July 16, while that for the domestic Sector starts 16 days later, the airport developers said ahead of the grand opening.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, along with National Advisory Council (NAC) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, will inaugurate what is officially called the Terminal 3 building that can cater to 34 million passengers annually.

The current international terminal can handle around 10 million passengers.

The airport’s developers are led by the Bangalore-based infrastructure major GMR Group, with the state-run Airports Authority of India, Fraport of Germany and Malaysian Airport Holding as members of the consortium.

Some of the key features of the new terminal are:

-Sixth largest in the world after those at Dubai, Beijing, Singapore, Bangkok and Mexico City

-One pier each for international and domestic operations spanning 1.2 km from one end to other

-A city within, with a super-structure spread over 5.4 million sq ft

-78 aerobridges, against less than 10 at the current international terminal

-63 elevators, 35 escalators and 92 automatic walkways

-168 check-in counters and 95 immigration desks

-One pier each for international and domestic operations spanning 1.2 km from one end to other

-Over 20,000 sq meters of retail area, including a large food court

-Capacity to handle 12,800 bags per hour, with 6.4 km of conveyor belts

-Multi-layer parking facility that can accommodate 4,300 cars

-Exotic plants, material imported from Thailand, Mexico, Bahrain.