Noida. The much-anticipated Noida International Airport- the country’s largest airport, is set to open in September 2024. The airport’s construction in Greater Noida in the National Capital Region (NCR), has been accelerated with nearly all of the requisite land obtained.
UP Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, who inspects the progress of Noida International Airport on a monthly basis, informed about the development.
Swiss operator Zurich also assured –
The officer said that the airport would be open to the public in September 2024, with flights beginning soon thereafter. Flughafen Zrich AG, the operator of Zurich Airport in Switzerland, which won the contract to develop and manage the airport for 40 years starting in 2019, is also optimistic that the project would be completed on schedule, informed the HS.
Real embodiment of Swiss efficiency –
At the Global Investors Conference 2023 in Lucknow, Daniel Bircher, CEO of Zurich Airport Asia, had declared that the Noida International Airport will be a real embodiment of Swiss efficiency and Indian friendliness.
“Noida International Airport will act as a gateway to ease of doing business in Uttar Pradesh,” he added. The airport, according to the chief secretary, is an ambitious initiative of UP.
Job prospects will get a boost –
“With the operation of this airport, there will be structural development of industrial infrastructure, due to which job prospects will also get a boost, manufacturing and exports will be encouraged and air traffic will be facilitated, as well as there will be a significant increase in tourism.
In the Yamuna Authority region, many industrial sectors have sprouted up near the airport. This location will become the largest focus of industrial and service sector operations in the future days,” he said. The CS also directed the concessionaire to finish the building work ahead of schedule.
3300 acres of land bought till now –
The site clearance for Noida International Airport was awarded in July 2017, and the Government of India gave authorization in principle in May 2018.
In only two years, 1334 hectares of land, or around 3300 acres, were bought for this purpose, along with environmental authorization and all forms of NOCs from various ministries and agencies of the Government of India.
NCR’s second international airport –
On October 7, 2020, Noida International Airport Ltd, a UP government corporation, inked a concession deal with Zurich Airport’s firm Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, setting the groundwork for the development f the NCR’s second international airport.
During the Covid epidemic, the UP government gave all essential help for airport expansion by signing a State Support Agreement with Zurich Airport on March 1, 2021. This airport is located beside the 100-meter Yamuna Expressway, which will be linked by a new interchange.
A 60-meter service road parallel to the Yamuna Expressway has been built to link the airport. This airport will also be linked to the Eastern Peripheral Road by an interchange on the Yamuna Expressway.
Delhi-Noida Airport to take 21 minutes –
The Noida airport will be linked to the Delhi-Varanasi High-Speed Rail, whose station will be close the airport’s terminal, and the journey from Delhi to Noida Airport would take only 21 minutes. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway connects it to Ballabhgarh (Haryana).
Construction in two stages –
The bidder and Zurich Airport International AG’s SPV business Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd licenced and took control of the full 3300 acres of property by choosing Tata Project Pvt Ltd as the EPC contractor for the runway, ATC, and terminal building.
The construction of this airport will take place in two stages. This airport will feature two runways in the first stage, which will be expanded to five runways in the second stage.
Airport to cost over Rs. 30,000 crore –
This airport with two runways would have a capacity of 70 million people per year and will cost over Rs. 30,000 crore. The first stage will be built in four stages. In the first phase, in the years 2023-24, this airport will have a capacity of 12 million annual passengers, which will be increased to 30 million people and two runways in the year 2031.
It will have a 50 million passenger capacity in 2036 and a 70 million passenger capacity in 2040. The first stage of this project would cost 29,560 crore over all four stages. This airport will be contemporary, computerised, and have zero net carbon emissions.
Employment to 1 lakh people –
The concessionaire would invest 5,730 crore in the first phase, for which it has received a loan of 3,725 crore from SBI and the remaining amount of 2,005 crore from Zurich Airport International AG. The concessionaire will also establish a 40-acre MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhauling) business.
The Noida Airport project would provide direct and indirect employment to 1 lakh people. Moreover, an estimated economic output of 60,000 crore would be obtained. The airport will also include a specialised cargo terminal with a capacity of 2 million metric tonnes, which will be increased to 8 million metric tonnes in the future.
Separate routes are also being developed for freight, which will be beneficial for the transfer of items from the numerous companies located in this area. In the second stage, three runways will be developed to enlarge the airport. The third runway will take up 1,365 hectares, the fourth 1318 hectares, and the fifth 735 hectares.
The UP government has also made available the funds with approval for the acquisition of 1365 hectares of land necessary for the building of the third runway, and the acquisition procedure has begun. The overall capacity of the five runways will be 225 million. Hence, the ultimate capacity of Noida International Airport Jewar, which would have 5 runways after development, will be 225 million.
