The major installation works are now complete, and the finishing touches are currently being undertaken. On completion, T3 will become the third largest terminal in the world, after Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3 and Beijing International Airport’s Terminal 3.
The $2.6 billion T3 is designed to handle 34 million passengers per year. The basic trials at T3 were completed in January 2010, followed by advanced trials in April 2010, which will continue until June 2010.
Designed by global architectural firm HOK, working in consultation with UK-based engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald, the new Terminal 3 is a two-tier building. The bottom floor features the arrivals area and the top floor houses departures area. This terminal features 168 check-in counters, 74 aerobridges, 30 parking bays, 72 immigration counters, 15 X-ray screening areas, for less waiting times, and duty-free shops. The terminal features sprawling shopping and food sections. The retail area at T3 is nearly the size of three football fields.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a joint venture consortium led by global infrastructure major GMR Group, which runs the IGIA, hopes to create an Explore India theme park at the terminal on the lines of the Butterflies Garden at Singapore’s Changi International Airport and the Rijksmuseum at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
