New Beginning For New Delhi
Posted by Stephen Cline on July 20th, 2010
HOK International, a team of London architects, helped New Delhi design its terminal in its international airport, which will consequently guide the passengers to a less hectic way of entering the gateway of India’s capital, starting from July 14. The international airport has been instrumental in linking India with the rest of the world for the last 24 years. The newly made terminal is sheathed in glass-panes with figures of dancers from India etched on it.
The airport building can be compared with any contemporary aviation hub of Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. It has got the retail space of 215,000 sq ft with 97 computerized walkways, 78 gates and 95 immigration cells. It has got the capacity to accommodate 4,300 cars for parking. The terminal may be one of India’s very first steps to overcome the poor infrastructure. This terminal cost about $2.2 billion including other renovations. It took 37 months only to build this terminal.
6.5% of India’s GDP is spent on its infrastructure while China spends its 11% for the same. It takes 3.8 days on an average to load and unload cargo at the major ports in India while it takes 10 hours in Hong Kong for the same. In the same process, the holdups at Indian airports make a huge impact. Not only Shanghai and Beijing have wonderful airports, but the connection between the global economy and theirs is quite strong. India has to develop in leaps and bounds to match with the bigger names of the world economy.