Terminal T3 at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), one of the largest terminal buildings in the world and India's first integrated terminal (handling both domestic and international flights), will be inaugurated by India Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on July 3. 

The new terminal, built at a cost of $2.73 billion, can accommodate 34 million passengers per year. (The airport handled 27 million passengers between April 2009 and March 2010). “We expect that 95 percent of all passengers will wait less than ten minutes at any counter such as customs, immigration or security check,” a spokesperson at IGIA told AIN. 

The new terminal features eight levels with 168 check-in counters and 24 remote check-in counters, a five-level, in-line baggage system, 98 immigration counters and 78 aero bridges-the highest number of aero bridges for a single terminal anywhere in the world. 

All 71 international airlines that operate from Delhi will shift from the existing Terminal 2 to the new Terminal on July 4. Domestic airlines will shift on July 31. Plans call for the present international terminal to cater to general aviation after the Commonwealth Games 2010 in October. IGIA plans to expand facilities and add an additional MRO in the second phase of the project, set to start in 2012.