T-3: The Terminal is here

Raghvendra Rao

New Delhi : In three weeks from now, India will unveil its biggest airport terminal, Terminal 3 or T-3, at the Delhi Airport. As July 3 nears, the day Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurates the new terminal, the finishing touches to the Rs 12,700 crore mega-structure that will handle 34 million passengers annually, are on at a frantic pace. And with the Commonwealth Games just over 100 days away, the sense of anticipation of showcasing what is being dubbed as the country’s most-modern terminal to a world audience is unmistakable.

“International” is probably the word that best sums up what T-3 is all about. From the time one drives onto the Departure level, that has a huge 300 meter-long “meet and greet” area just before the entry gates, to the Departure Hall that houses a staggering 168 check-in counters mounted on six islands, to the 92 automatic walkalators (a.k.a travelators) and the 78 aerobridges, Terminal 3, which integrates the domestic and international terminals at the Delhi airport for the first time ever, throws up a sight that is commonly associated with some of the best airports across the globe.

T-3, in addition, will offer some facilities to passengers that have never been offered in India. Probably one of the most significant facilities T-3 will provide will be the one enabling a passengers to ask for a change of seat at the Boarding Gate. Installation of sophisticated communication equipment at the Boarding Gates will allow authorities to change seats of passengers, in case a possibility exists, just before they board the plane.

When construction was at its peak, close to 50,000 workers were working day and night on the T-3. Helping them out were 300-odd foreign nationals who have also worked for months on this project. In fact, the list of countries from where foreigners came to work on T-3 includes Germany, UK, Italy, Australia, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Sweden, Canada, US and Thailand.

Even today, groups of Chinese nationals actively engaged in fixing the last-minute glitches can be seen all over the terminal. “This is a very big terminal. And if not better, it is certainly as good as the Beijing airport,” says Hagel Hui, a Chinese national currently working on the aerobridges being installed by ThyssenKrupp. Hui, however, clarifies with a smile that it is his loyalty towards his country that is preventing him from not calling it better than what they have at Beijing airport.

With the Operational Readiness and Airport Transfers (ORTA) checks currently on, both the Departure and the Arrival halls of T-3 are flooded with luggage of all shapes and sizes. Thousands of bags and suitcases are being run through the baggage handling system that has a capacity to handle 12,800 bags per hour. There are two dedicated belts for oversized bags , says DIAL’s Rommel Valles.

To maintain an Indian character, the makers of T-3 have put in place wall-mounted giant-sized palms depicting various mudras in the Arrival area. A lot of artwork on the glass facades, too, is clearly reflective of the Indian ethos.

While the granite for flooring was sourced from Saudi Arabia, as much as 16,500 square meters of carpets was purchased from carpet major Brinton. Similarly, chairs installed in the waiting areas have come from Italy.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the company that successfully delivered this mega piece of concrete and glass structure in a record 37 months, in fact, has already started thinking in terms of making Delhi airport a “hub” airport and not just remain the origin and destination airport it currently is.