Wednesday, May 09, 2007

coming soon: delhi rocks


 

there are innumerable advantages of living in the capital city which many of us would easily overlook because we take them for granted. wonder what will happen an year later when most of gtbitians would move to other cities to pursue their careers! and with the spate of infrastructural projects being announced every other day in delhi, you just end up wishing that you never have to move out. well in this first article where i am actually starting to enlist the upcoming marvels of delhi, (and once in a while, of India too) i am just very excited after having seen what the new delhi airport would look like 4 years from now, by 2010 end. you can see in the pix above that it truly is looking stunning. of course at the back of our minds we will always be skeptical whether the airport will achieve what its slated to be, 'in time', because barring delhi metro, hardly any other project gets completed on time, leave alone before the deadline as is almost always the case with DMRC. lol! out of many renovation stints at IGI airport, the following has been done to the children's room:

Disney icons Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck have taken over the walls of Childcare Room in Terminal 1-A of Delhi’s international airport. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has overhauled the dingy, cramped room to make the tiny tots’ stay at the airport more comfortable and enjoyable. Floors have been polished while the walls have been done up in bright, cheery hues. Big cut-outs of Mickey and Donald have been placed everywhere along with a new cupboard full of toys. Cots and high chairs for children as well as cushy sofas for the parents have also added to the pleasant ambience.

and the following was just too exciting for many :

March 28, 2007: Passengers arriving today at Indira Gandhi International Airport’s International Terminal (Terminal 2) were in for a pleasant surprise with the opening of a brand new chain of duty free stores. Alpha Future welcomed customers to its first duty free shops in India offering an unparalleled collection of duty free items. Bigger than ever before - the duty free shops at IGI Airport present passengers with an exciting new duty free shopping experience.

but what would be the best feature would be the speedy check in and related operations, which is evident from this piece of info put up on the GMR group's ( in charge of delhi airport revamp) site:

The Delhi Airport will receive a mammoth facelift, with Terminal 3 having 55 contact stands (aerobridges) and 30 remote parking bays for passenger embarkation and disembarkation. By the end of the decade, 90 per cent of all passenger traffic at the airport will be through aerobridges. Its 130 counters will speed up the check-ins. More than 70 desks will be there to facilitate the emigration procedures for the international passengers. A piece of good news is that the access to the new terminal will be through a six-lane road connecting NH8. The airport will also be connected via dedicated Metro line from the city centre.

when the contract was awarded to GMR group, it was just too exciting to see the video presentation of what the delhi airport was gonna look like ,3-4 years from now. the Rs. 8,500 crore facelift will truly make it an "international" airport, and I just like many others, i am too excited to experience all the mint fresh lounges, counters, duty-free shops and so much more that would be just in time to welcome the commonwealth games to the city. P.S - i have never gone inside the airport, forget boarding a plane :p

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