Like every good host, Delhi is putting out its welcome mats at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for the one lakh visitors expected during the Commonwealth Games in October.

Their first view of the Capital will be the massive new Terminal 3 (T3) which will not only welcome the city’s guests for the 12-day mega sporting event, it will also solve Delhi’s aviation needs for the coming years. 

India’s busiest airport now has the country’s biggest and the world’s eighth-largest airport in Terminal 3.

The prime minister unveiled a plaque to mark the opening at 10.40 am at a function also attended by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Andra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah and G M Rao, chairman of GMR group, which led the consortium of companies that built the terminal, were also present.

The new terminal is the sixth largest in the world after those at Dubai, Beijing, Singapore, Bangkok and Mexico City, the promoters said.

It is spread over 5.4 million square feet to give an experience of a city within, officials said. The swank new terminal can cater to 34 million passengers annually. The current international terminal can handle around 10 million passengers.