India will soon make it to a select club of nations that boast of sky-high air traffic control (ATC) towers. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, being developed by the GVK-promoted Mumbai International Airport Ltd, will be home to the country’s tallest ATC tower — at 83 metres, it is roughly the height of a 30-storey building. The tower, which will sport a distinctive design, comprises four floors each at its base (for security and AAI staff) and at the top (for ATC operational area, navigation equipment). The rest of the tower, between the base and apex floors, will be just a concrete shaft for accommodating lifts and staircase. Since the new structure will be taller than the existing 60-metre tower, its view will extend 8 km beyond both ends of the runway. The ATC tower is expected to be completed by June this year and will be operational from January 2013. However, the tower in Mumbai is expected to be dwarfed by a 95-metre tower that will come up by the end of next year at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.