Mumbai airport unveils new domestic terminal

Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) unveiled the new domestic terminal, 1C, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), which will be operational from tomorrow.

The terminal was built at a cost of Rs 300 crore and is spread over 297,194 sq ft across three levels. It will be used to connect terminals 1A and 1B and has a seating capacity of about 900 passengers.

MIAL is a joint venture (JV) between a GVK-led consortium and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), with the former holding 74 per cent and the latter 26 per cent.

“About 65 per cent of Jet Airways, Air India and Kingfisher traffic is expected to pass through this terminal. We are not looking at the growth of the airport currently, but are concentrating on completion of the project. The upgrade of the main runway is expected by next year,” said MIAL Managing Director G V Sanjay Reddy.

Level 1 of the terminal will house Kingfisher, Air India, Jet Airways and MIAL offices, while Level 2 will be the security-hold area for passengers after checking in at either terminal 1A or 1B. It will also have six aerobridges with roughly two for each airline. Stores such as William Penn, Swarovski, Ultra bar and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf will be present here. Level 3 will have a food court.

Commenting on the destination development concept, Reddy said: “We have developed an integrated a master plan for the entire airfield and we expect the necessary approvals in 3-4 months and, we will go ahead, depending on the market scenario. There is also a need to develop a convention centre that can support about 10,000-20,000 people.”

The master plan has been designed to have an integrated terminal at Sahar, to be ready by 2013, with facilities to cater to about 40 million passengers a year.

CSIA is the most constrained airport in the country in terms of land availability. It has a little over 1,000 acres of usable land, compared to Delhi International Airport that has more than 5,000 acres. About 80,000 families live on the periphery of MIAL.

“Twenty thousand new dwellings are being created for these families and are expected to be completed by September this year. These families will be provided housing within one-and-a-half km of their current residence,” said Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.

The minister urged the Maharashtra government to look objectively at the high rate of sales tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel in the state, which stands at 25 per cent currently. He also stressed the need to develop the overall infrastructure such as road connectivity.