印度第100座機場建成 距中國60公里
India's 100th airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the northern-eastern state of Sikkim on Monday, is arguably one of the world's most beautiful airports.
週一，印度總理納倫德拉·莫迪在該國東北部的錫金邦，爲印度第100個機場舉行落成典禮。該機場可以說是世界上最美麗的機場之一。The state's airport at Pakyong, some 30km (18 miles) from the state capital, Gangtok, and has been described as an "engineering marvel".
錫金邦的這座機場位於帕雍，距離首府甘托克約30公里（18英里），被稱爲“工程奇蹟”。Some 60km from the border with China, the airport is located on top of a hill above Pakyong village at 4,500ft (1,371 metres) above sea level and it's spread across over 201 acres.
該機場距離中國邊境約60公里，位於帕雍村上方一座山頂上，海拔4500英尺（1,371米），佔地面積超過201英畝。
The airport is flanked by deep valleys at both ends of the 1.75km-long runway. It has two parking bays and a terminal building, which can handle about 100 passengers at a time.
機場兩側是長達1.75公里的跑道，兩端是深谷。有兩個停機坪和一個候機樓，一次可以接納大約100名乘客。
Difficult topography and hostile weather conditions made this nine-year-long project "extremely challenging and exciting", according to a spokesperson for Punj Lloyd, an Indian company which built the runway.
負責建造跑道的印度公司布尼勞埃德集團的一位發言人稱，地形和惡劣的天氣條件使這個長達九年的項目“極具挑戰性，讓人心潮澎湃”。Engineers say the main challenge was to carry out heavy earthwork construction at the site and lug equipment through narrow mountain roads. The weather -- Sikkim gets monsoon rains from April to September -- hindered work.
工程師們表示，最主要的挑戰是進行重型土方施工，還要通過狹窄的山路拖運設備。另外，錫金從4月綿延至9月的雨季，也時常讓工作受阻。The hilly terrain and high seismicity were among some of the other challenges engineers faced on the rocky slopes.
丘陵地形和活躍的地質活動是工程師在岩石斜坡上面臨的另一個挑戰。The entire airport, including the runway, has been built on land which was itself created by building an embankment wall as high as 263ft in deep valleys. Punj Lloyd says it is one of the tallest "reinforcement" walls in the world.
包括跑道在內的整個機場，都建在深谷中修築的高達263英尺的堤牆之上。布尼勞埃德方面稱其是世界上最高的加固牆之一。Commercial flight operations from Pakyong will begin on 4 October. The airport is expected to boost tourism to Sikkim, which is home to a number of peaks, glaciers and high altitude lakes.
帕雍機場將於10月4日正式開始商業運營。該機場預計將促進錫金的旅遊業。錫金冰川山峯衆多，還有很多高海拔湖泊。
