MUMBAI’S Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport last week launched its new international terminal, boosting capacity by close to one-third.
Spread over 439,203m2, the new terminal brings the airport’s handling capacity to 40 million from the previous 32 million.
The four-storey glass structure, whose design was inspired by a dancing peacock and the lotus flower, has 208 check-in counters, a day hotel and a transit hotel, an advanced baggage system and a dedicated six-lane elevated expressway.
It also boasts the country’s largest multi-level parking area and cable-stayed glass wall.
Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, who inaugurated the facility, said: “We plan to develop 50 more airports across the country in Tier Two and Three cities. The last 10 years have seen outstanding development of civil aviation infrastructure in the country.”
Veneeta Rawat, director of Amazing Vacations Mumbai, said: “The enhanced capacity of the new Terminal 2 was long overdue as the space (crunch) at one of India’s busiest airports was inhibitive. Mumbai is a major gateway to India and we can expect international carriers to increase flights to the city soon. Demand continues to outstrip supply.”
However, Bloomberg noted that the airport continued to face challenges. The airport must overcome the slums that occupy one-sixth of its land in order to expand its runways, while its interesecting runway and single taxiway means that the facility will find it hard to handle more flights even when the airport’s third and final phase of development wraps up in 2020.
