Officials unveiled a glittering new multibillion-dollar airport terminal in the Indian capital Saturday, a steel-and-glass structure. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated the ultramodern, $3-billion terminal at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Terminal 3 or T3 was built in just 37 months and will open for international passengers on July 14. Domestic passengers will shift to the new terminal on July 30. «This airport terminal establishes new global benchmarks. It also exemplifies our country's resolve to bridge and bridge fast enough the infrastructure deficit in our country,» Singh said at Saturday's ceremony. The new structure is spread over more than 120 acres (50 hectares) and with more than 160 check-in windows it can handle 34 million passengers a year, according to Delhi International Airport (P) LTD, the consortium that built and operates the airport terminal. Delhi International Airport (P) LTD is a joint venture between Indian infrastructure company GMR group, Germany's Fraport, the government-run Airports Authority of India and Malaysian Airport Holdings. «It is estimated that India's aviation sector has the potential to absorb up to $120 billion of investment by the year 2020,» Singh said in his speech.
