Over a km long wall displaying ancient and modern art work, landscaped gardens, waterfall – all this right in the heart of Mumbai’s suburbs. This need not sounds like a flight of fantasy as the new terminal at Mumbai airport will have all this and much more.
The 439,000 sq metre four-level new terminal at Sahar will handle 40 million passengers (compared to 34 million passenger handling capacity of Delhi airport’s T3) and will start international operations from October. Pre-launch trials are expected in May-June. The GVK group-run Mumbai International Airport Ltd is upgrading the Mumbai airport at an estimated cost of Rs 12,380 crore.
Though problems like airside congestion and lack of adequate night parking bays – issues that have dogged the growth of the Mumbai airport -- will not change overnight, the opening of the new terminal will enable the airport to handle more flights and offer much better passenger convenience in terms of check-in, security hold and baggage delivery – the areas for all of them will be substantially bigger from those at present.
T2 will also take care of immigration delays. While the existing international terminal has 80 immigration counters, the T2 will have 136. It will have 52 aerobridges (T3 of course has 78 aerobridges) and is spread over four levels. The top most level will consist of international departure check-in area and will be accessible using the elevated road. The third level will be used for domestic departures while arrivals will be at the second level.
The new terminal has 21,000 sq metres of retail space and industry experts see it as an upside for both retailers and passengers. The new terminal will help boost revenue with the new duty free concessionaire promising a much larger share in revenue than the previous contract.
An another interesting construction feature is the roofing system which provides both thermal and acoustical insulation by limiting outside heat and aircraft noise and keeps interiors cool. For internal illumination, MIAL has installed skylights consisting of an intricate combination of 272 pieces of glass sourced from China and built on steel framework. The entire layout of skylight resembles a diamond studded jewel.
Joeri Aulman of Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO) said "during the master plan phase, it already became clear that instead of quantity, Mumbai airport's focus should be on quality. An integrated, 'one roof' Terminal 2 for hubbing operations of the large carriers was one of the major pillars supporting the airport's future prospects.''
"When we first mapped the space constraints at Mumbai Airport, we found that a considerable amount of space was occupied not only by slums, but by Air India's catering facility, maintenance hangars etc. This meant that the new terminal had to come around these buildings until they were shifted from the current location,'' he said. He added that the new terminal will be extended upon the demolition of existing terminal building and shifting of Air India's facilities.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/after-t3-it-s-the-turn-of-t2-113031600251_1.html
No comments:
Post a Comment