Delhi: Sonia lays foundation for new terminal

New Delhi, Feb 17: UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today laid the foundation stone for a new integrated terminal building and runway at Delhi airport which promises to rank among the world's best in coming years.

Ms Gandhi, accompanied by civil aviation minister Praful Patel, also inaugurated an aviation exhibition after the ceremony held along national capital's border with Haryana.

Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport -- the second busiest in India -- will have 130 check-in counters, 74 aerobridges, automated passenger movers, restaurants, shopping joints and a high-speed train connection to the city.

Phase one of the master plan includes construction of a new passenger terminal (Terminal 3) which will cater to both domestic and international passengers. It will be ready before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Overlooking opposition by Left parties, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is revamping the airport international standards capable of keeping pace with a booming economy.

It is also developing greenfield airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore besides modernising Kolkata and Chennai airports. Also, 35 airports in non-metro cities are being upgraded to promote regional connectivity.

Currently, congested waiting areas, lack of comfortable seating, slow baggage handling and unreliable power supplies make air travel uncomfortable for a fast expanding middle-class despite the introduction of many new budget airlines.

The GMR-led consortium holds 74 per cent stake in Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL), the new joint venture company set up to modernise and upgrade the IGI Airport. Remaining 26 per cent is with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which will continue to manage air traffic control -- a crucial component of any airport -- and oversee security and fire-control related issues. DIAL also has partners like Fraport, Eraman Malaysia and India Development Fund.

In its first phase, the airport will be capable of handling 37 million passengers per annum. The total project outlay for this phase will be close to Rs 6,700 crore. Ultimately, it will have a capacity of 100 million passengers per year.

In the terminal building, passengers will be able to avail a host of amenities like a wide variety of restaurants, shopping and duty-free complexes and a range of other leisure facilities.

Business travellers will be able to utilise efficient communication equipment at a business centre and relax or conduct meetings in executive lounges.

The arrival hall will feature wide-body baggage reclaim belts, two of which would be able to handle needs of Airbus A380-sized aircraft (the world's largest that can seat upto 800 travellers).

Passengers will greatly benefit with faster and less obtrusive check-in and security clearances. For international passengers, more than 70 desks will facilitate emigration procedures.

It is estimated that the passenger traffic at Delhi airport will rise to 46.2 million per year by 2015 and touch 80 million per year by 2025.

At present, Delhi airport ranks among the world's worst but caters to 11 domestic and 53 international airlines. In 2005-06, it handled 10.47 million domestic and 5.77 million international passengers.

UNI