Noida International Airport, Jewar: PM Modi likely to lay project’s foundation stone on this date

The project is being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 29,560 crore by Zurich International Airport AG.

PM Narendra Modi is likely to lay Jewar International Airport’s foundation stone in the last week of November. The ‘bhoomi poojan’ ceremony, which will be attended by the Prime Minister and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, will tentatively take place on November 25, according to official sources quoted in an IE report. The Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, is set to be operational by September 2024 and it is said to be a key development project for NCR residents. Officials said the airport was due to be inaugurated in the month of August but faced delays. Earlier, several formalities of the airport project were delayed as well including important meetings with various stakeholders because of the Covid pandemic, they said.

The Noida International Airport is spread across 5,000 hectares. The project is being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 29,560 crore by Zurich International Airport AG. The bid was won by the Swiss Airport firm in November 2019 following which a concessionaire agreement had been signed with the Uttar Pradesh government. In the month of July this year, the land lease of the airport was signed for a period of 90 years giving approval for construction. Also, a shareholder agreement was signed between Zurich International Airport AG, YIAPL, and NIAL. The YIAPL is the Zurich Airport company’s 100% subsidiary firm while NIAL has been set up as an SPV by the UP government for project execution.

At the moment, a development proposal is being examined by NIAL that has been sent by the Zurich Airport company. Currently, work is progressing in a timely manner, officials said. Earlier, Shailendra Bhatia, nodal officer, NIAL, was quoted saying that the authority has handed over the required land for the airport project’s first phase. The airport firm is carrying out development of boundary walls, levelling of areas as well as other activities to lay groundwork for construction. The agencies involved in the project are also ready for the laying of the foundation stone. Parallely, land acquisition procedures for the airport’s second phase are being carried out as well, Bhatia had mentioned.