Uttar Pradesh: Swiss firm gets MHA nod for Jewar airport

LUCKNOW/NOIDA: The much awaited construction of Jewar airport in Noida progressed further with the ministry of home affairs (MHA) giving its nod to the greenfield project considered to be an alternative to New Delhi’s IGI airport.
SP Goyal, principal secretary to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, announced the development through a tweet saying: “Glad to share that Zurich Airport International AG has got the security clearance for development of Noida international airport.”
The project has been awaiting the MHA nod, after the environment ministry gave its approval after reviewing the response of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), the agency which is piloting the project, three months ago.
The Swiss firm AG International had on November 29 emerged as the highest bidder to develop the Jewar airport on the outskirts of Delhi, outbidding competitors like Adani Enterprises, DIAL and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holding.
Project to cost Rs 29,000 crore
The entire project will be spread over 5,000 hectares and estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore.
The airport, the third in the national capital region after Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport and Ghaziabad’s Hindon airport, is touted to have six to eight runways, the most in India, when fully built.
Keeping in mind the growth in demand, the UP government has set an aggressive deadline for completion of the Jewar airport project, targeting operationalization of its first phase by 2023. The first phase of the airport would be spread over 1,334 hectare and cost Rs 4,588 crore as it is expected to be completed by 2023. Implementation of the project would take place in four phases, with the last phase scheduled for completion by 2040.
When fully operational, the Jewar airport in Greater Noida would be able to handle over 160 million passengers per anum (mppa), making it the largest airport in India.