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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

The new Kolkata airport. While the walls are beautified with photographs of traditional folk dances of Bengal, the roof carries lines from Tagore's works.

On January 20, as President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the new integrated terminal at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, it added a new feather to the City of Joy's cap.

How does the new airport look?

Does it look as sprawling as the airports of New Delhi and Mumbai?

In this slide show, we present spectacular images of the new terminal. Read on. . .

The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

Foreigners check in their luggages at the new Kolkata airport.

Airports Authority of India had hired a Thai-Indian consortium, Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd-ITD Cementation, to build the new terminal which was long overdue.

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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

An aircraft gets ready for boarding at the new Kolkata airport.

The state-of-the-art integrated terminal has been built at a cost of Rs 2,325 crore (Rs 23.25 billion).

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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

A passenger takes photograph of the rose that he got as a welcome gift at the new Kolkata airport.

The new terminal can handle 25 million passengers annually, a leap from the current capacity of 4.8 million a year.

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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

Floral decoaration adorns the new Kolkata airport.

Apart from the 195,000 square metre, five-level integrated passenger terminal building, the new facility also offers modern taxiways and extension of a runway, so that it can handle bigger aircraft such as the Airbus A-380.

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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

An image of Goddess Durga embellishes the wall of the new Kolkata airport.

Initially, the new terminal will be used only for international flight operations.

Airliners will shift their facilities from the existing terminal to the new one in a phased manner.

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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

Passengers queue up for their boarding passes at the new Kolkata airport.

Although West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked the AAI to make new facility fully operational in 15 days, officials said this could be done only by the end of March.

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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

A mother and a child engage in a conversation as a security guard looks on at the new Kolkata airport.

After the entire operations shift to the new terminal, the existing international terminal in Kolkata airport will be closed.

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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

Passengers get their luggages X-rayed at the new Kolkata airport.

The area will be used for future expansion of the airport.

With the launch of the new terminal, four international airlines have shown interest to operate to and from Kolkata.

Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, Turkish Airlines and FlyDubai have shown interset for Kolkata operations.

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The stunning new terminal of the Kolkata airport

Last updated on: January 29, 2013 16:53 IST

A display board indicates departure schedules of flights at the new Kolkata airport.

Among the foreign airlines that currently operate out of Kolkata include Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, AirAsia, Druk Air, SilkAir, China Eastern Airlines, United Airways, GMG Airlines, Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Dragonair.