The All New State-of-the-art Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 or T2
So finally on 10th Jan 2014, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the state-of-the-art Terminal 2 or T2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.
Dr. Manmohan Singh said “This terminal is expected to establish new global benchmarks of functional efficiency and operational safety… This terminal will fulfill the expectations we have from it and make us feel proud. We are working hard to make this airport a world-class facility. Our efforts have met with success. Ratings have improved considerably in recent years.”
Though it’s inaugurated the actual operations at the terminal are slated to begin from February. The spanking four-storey glass marvel, whose design has been inspired by a dancing peacock, has come up at a whopping investment of Rs. 9,800 crore as against initial projection of Rs. 7,452 crore.
The terminal boasts of tens of thousands of artifacts and paintings, housing arguably one the largest collections in the world at an airport. The most attractive feature of the swanky terminal is the museum of artifacts. Stretching along a 3-km art wall, the museum houses over 7,000 artifacts collected from over 1,500 artists across the country.
Spread over an area of a little over 4.39 lakh square meters, the T2 has been designed to cater to an estimated 40 million passengers annually. One of the country’s busiest airports currently caters 32 million passengers a year.
The state-of-the-art T2 situated at Andheri, will be larger than Singapore’s Changi T3 (3.80 lakh sqm) and London’s Heathrow T5 (3.53 lakh sqm). It will be able to accommodate 9,900 passengers during peak hours. It has a 7-lakh sq ft area of retail space, lounges and travel services.
Of the four-level terminal, level 1 will be used for ground transportation and 2 for arrivals. Level 3 will have domestic security and retail space, while level 4 is meant for common international and domestic check-ins, international security and retail.
As far as facilities are concerned, the terminal will have 188 check-in counters, 60 immigration sites for departing passengers and 76 immigration counters for incoming fliers.
Also, passengers will have access to 47 escalators and 73 elevators. The facilities also include 52 boarding gates, around 11,000 seats, 101 toilets, 44 travelators, 16 lounges, and 10 baggage.
10 Facts About The Mumbai Airport Terminal 2:
- The new terminal has been built by the GVK-led consortium has been built at a cost of over 12,500 crores.
- The T2 covers an area of over 1400 acres. Granite that can cover 27 football fields, and over 18000 metric tonnes of steel have been used in its construction.
- Though no longer India’s busiest airport, the four-storey terminal will cater to an estimated 40 million passengers annually.
- The new terminal has 188 check-in counters, 60 immigration counters for departing passengers, and 76 immigration counters for incoming fliers.
- To get around, passengers will have access to 47 escalators and 73 elevators.
- For those who stress about travelling to the domestic Sahar airport for connecting flights, a six-lane elevated expressway will ease things.
- A multi-level car park has also been built to accommodate 5,000 vehicles. T2 will mostly cater to international traffic, though a few domestic airlines are expected to move operations there later.
- The terminal will also boast 21,000 square meters of area for retail shopping.
- The new terminal will have 2300 CCTV cameras for passenger safety and 4100 public address speakers.
- The X-shaped terminal also boasts of a three-kilometre-long art walk which incorporates Indian aesthetics with a white peacock theme. Titled ‘Jaya He’, it offers a glimpse into India’s rich legacy and is an unprecedented interdisciplinary platform for the nation’s cultural and creative industries.