I will take a break from my Denmark Diaries and share to you what I just found online - Mumbai's new airport terminal, T2. The four-storey Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport opened its new terminal and was inaugurated on January 10 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and will be opened to passengers on February 12. The terminal was designed by NYC-based Skidmore, Owings and Merrill which also designed the Singapore Changi International Airport.
T2 has the world's longest cable-stayed glass wall and the world's largest public art program - including a mural of Bollywood stars. The terminal, filled with Indian art and high-tech architecture and inspired by dancing a peacock, required $2B to be constructed. And yes, it does not disappoint at all!
Before the terminal gets overcrowded with passengers/travelers, here's a sneak peak:
Highlights
208 check-in counters
60 immigration counters on departure
72 immigration counters on arrival
102 toilets
1 day hotel
1 transit hotel
10 baggage carousels (expandable to 14)
granite floors
four-storey glass structure
LED-lights illuminate the facade
home to thousand of artifacts and paintings as well as murals and other artwork
The dancing peacock-themed terminal has a peacock feather-styled roof equipped with special dichroic lights that move with the changing direction of the sun reflecting an array of colors on the check-in area floor. Amazing! I want to travel to India this year because of this.
Makes me want to wish Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 can be renovated too. It's about time! If not, I sincerely hope the airport admin can at least change the old carpet on the floors and clean the A/C vents - amoy luma talaga! The airport is the first and last place that travelers see so I guess updating the dated look could make it more enticing.
Photo Credit: AP Rajanish Kakade / Vijayanand Gupta / Siddhesh Savant
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