Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday dedicated the newly built international terminal (T2) at the city airport to the nation and said it marks the beginning of a fresh chapter in development of civil aviation industry.

Mumbai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday dedicated the newly built international terminal (T2) at the city airport to the nation and said it marks the beginning of a fresh chapter in development of civil aviation industry.

"This shows our ability to build world class infrastructure. The T2 is truly first class terminal," he said while inaugurating the swanky terminal of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

It marks the beginning of a new chapter in growth of civil aviation sector in the country, he said.

The four-storey glass marvel, whose design has been inspired by a dancing peacock, will become operational from February. T2 has come up at a whopping investment of Rs 9,800 crore.

The sprawling premises boasts of tens of thousands of artifacts and paintings, housing arguably one the largest collections in the world at an airport.

The most attractive feature of the swanky terminal is the museum of artifacts. Stretching along a 3-km art wall, the museum houses over 7,000 artifacts collected from over 1,500 artists across the country.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Union Science and Technology Minister S Jaipal Reddy, NCP President and Union Minister Sharad Pawar, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, among others.

PTI