Come Thursday, and passengers entering Terminal IB of Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport will be in for a pleasant surprise.
With Phase I of the terminal revamp project ending, the revamped portion of the terminal building has an all-new look: Aluminum composite panels, a glass roof, a skylight, a 1,575-sq metre pillarless check-in area, 38 check-in counters and a 1,651-sq metre security hold.
Designed by architect Hafeez Contractor and built by Unity Infraprojects Limited (under the aegis of the Airports Authority of India) at a cost of Rs 35 crore—the total project’s likely to cost Rs 83 crore—only 40 per cent of the upgradation has been completed.
Private carriers like Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Air Deccan and Spice Jet operate from IB—annually, the terminal sees some 7 million passengers. With new carriers coming in, the terminus needed major expansion.
Airport Director Sudhir Kumar said the first phase is equal to what used to be the total capacity. ‘‘Phase II will be additional to the erstwhile capacity and useful for other airlines,’’ he said, adding that more growth would require further expansion.
Mumbai airport, said Kumar, was the first and 30 airports were likely to will follow this pattern.
Once Phase II is completed—it’s likely to take three months—there will be 80 counters against the 43 earlier, two security hold areas and baggage makeup areas in place of one each. ‘‘We are doubling capacity of all parameters,’’ said Kumar.
The domestic terminal now has an extended car park with an additional parking capacity of 200 cars. A canopy will be built in front of the building and the area between the canopy and the main building will have a garden.
‘‘We wanted to give the best airport to Mumbai,’’ said K K Avarsekar of Unity. ‘‘And everyone worked to ensure it happened. If Hafeez didn’t like something, we removed it and did it all over again.’’
Work on Phase I began in December 2004 and was to end by June. Contractor said the delay was due to the old building—built in 1958—and the manner in which portions were added to it.
‘‘Phase II will be completed within the next three months. Once it’s over, this airport can match any in the international market,’’ Contractor claimed.
What’s New
• Departure lounge has Kalzip roofing, an aluminum alloy roofing manufactured in Germany and supplied from Singapore. It’s being used for the first time in India
• An extended portion will oversee a 180-sq metre mezzanine cafeteria
• Created after cutting existing reinforced concrete slabs, beams and columns, a skylight was built to ensure natural sunlight in the departure lounge. ‘‘It is energy efficient and will not require use of artificial lights during the day,’’ explained Kumar
• Check-in counters have integrated weighing scales and a flight information display. It will also house a shopping arcade
• Facilities for disabled persons, including ramps and toilets