India’s Prime Minister Inaugurates Mumbai Airport

After announcing his retirement from the post of Prime Minister (PM) after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, India’s PM, Manmohan Singh seems to be on an inauguration spree.

Close on the heels of inaugurating TCS Learning Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, he inaugurated Friday the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) Terminal 2 in Mumbai.

He was supported by visiting dignitaries and representatives from the private developer GVK, while the new air hub is designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM).

Located in the heart of India’s financial capital, the new hub adds 4.4 million square feet of space to accommodate 40 million passengers per year operating 24 hours a day.

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“The new Terminal 2 at CSIA is a monument to the beautiful spirit of Mumbai and its people. This terminal will make CSIA a gateway to the city of Mumbai and India with international and domestic passengers. We are happy to work with SOM, who helped us translate our dream and vision into reality,” said G V Sanjay Reddy, the managing director of GVK Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL).

The new terminal combines international and domestic passenger services under one roof, optimizing terminal operations and reducing passenger walking distances.

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Inspired by the form of traditional Indian pavilions, the four-story terminal stacks a grand “headhouse,” or central processing podium, on top of highly adaptable and modular concourses below.

Rather than compartmentalizing terminal functions, three symmetrical concourses radiate outwards from a central processing core and are therefore easily reconfigured to “swing” between serving domestic flights or international flights.

In the picture above: Exterior rendering of head house from approach roadway. Photo courtesy SOM