IGI airport new terminal will be ready by March 2010

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Istanbul: The new integrated terminal building of Delhi’s IGI airport will be ready by March 2010, but it will formally become operational in July next year after Metro completes its Airport Express Line.

“The terminal building would be ready by March 31, 2010 but it will be commissioned in July after the Delhi Metro completes the Airport Express Line in June,” said G M Rao, Chairman of the GMR Group.

The GMR Group led consortium, Delhi International Airports Limited (DIAL), which includes Airports Authority of India, Malaysian Airports and Frankfurt airport, is building the new terminal building.

This has been done to keep the opening of the terminal building in synchronisation with the completion of metro work.

As of now, 78 per cent of the civil work is complete, he said, adding if it is not synchronised it may create problems for the passengers as well as lead to security issues.

DIAL would go for extensive trials from March to June after the civil work would be over.

“However, some trials would begin by December end and early January next year,” Rao said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Metro said that the civil work on the Airport Express Line was going as per schedule.

“The deadline for the completion of this section is September 2010 and we will meet the deadline and be able to open it as per schedule,” a Metro spokesperson said in New Delhi.

DIAL has engaged a team of experts from Munich Airport Company (FMG) of Germany to implement an Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) programme to train staff and security personnel to ensure smooth commissioning and start of commercial operations at the new integrated terminal building.

“Under the three-phase ORAT programme, all internal and external stakeholders, like DIAL staff, airlines, ground handlers, CISF, Customs, Immigrations and operational service providers would be exposed to new working environment, baggage handling and IT systems and other processes required for day-to-day as well as fall-back operations in T3,” DIAL CEO P S Nair said.