Uttar Pradesh will soon become the only State in India to have five international airports with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to lay the foundation stone of the Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar on November 25.
The development of the airport is in line with the vision of Prime Minister Modi to boost connectivity and create a future-ready aviation sector, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement on November 23.
A special focus of this grand vision has been on Uttar Pradesh that is witnessing the development of multiple new international airports including the recently inaugurated Kushinagar airport and the under-construction international airport at Ayodhya.
The development of the first phase of the airport is being done at a cost of over ₹10,050 crore, it said.
Spread over more than 1,300 hectares of land, the completed first phase of the airport will have the capacity to serve around 1.2 crore passengers a year and work on it is scheduled to be completed by 2024, it added.
It will be executed by international bidder Zurich Airport International AG as concessionaire.
The groundwork for the first phase regarding land acquisition and rehabilitation of the affected families has been completed, the statement said.
This airport will be the second international airport to come up in Delhi-NCR, it noted and added that it will help decongest the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
It is strategically located and will serve the people of cities including Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Agra, Faridabad and neighbouring areas, it said.
The airport will be the logistics gateway of northern India and due to its scale and capacity, it will be a game changer for Uttar Pradesh, the PMO said.
It will unleash the potential of Uttar Pradesh to the world, and help establish the state on the global logistics map, it said.
For the first time, an airport in India has been conceptualised with an integrated multi-modal cargo hub, with a focus on reducing the total cost and time for logistics, the statement said.
The dedicated cargo terminal will have a capacity of 20 lakh metric tonnes, which will be expanded to 80 lakh metric tonnes, it added.
By facilitating seamless movement of industrial products, the airport will play a crucial role in helping the region attract huge investments, boost rapid industrial growth and enable reach of local products to national and international markets, the PMO stated.
This will bring new opportunities for numerous enterprises and also create tremendous employment opportunities, it said.
The airport will develop a Ground Transportation Centre that will feature a multi-modal transit hub, housing metro and high-speed rail stations, taxi, bus services and private parking, according to the PMO.
This will enable seamless connectivity of the airport with road, rail and metro, the statement said.
Noida and Delhi will be connected to the airport through hassle-free metro service, as well as major nearby roads and highways like the Yamuna Expressway, Western Peripheral Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and others will be connected to the airport.
The airport will also be linked to the planned Delhi-Varanasi High-Speed Rail, enabling people to complete the journey between Delhi and the airport in only 21 minutes.
The airport will also house a state-of-the-art MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhauling) service, the statement said.
The design of the airport is focused on low operating costs and seamless and fast transfer processes for passengers, it said.
The airport is introducing a swing aircraft stand concept, providing flexibility for airlines to operate an aircraft for both domestic and international flights from the same contact stand, without having to re-position the aircraft, the statement said, adding that this will ensure quick and efficient aircraft turnarounds at the airport while ensuring a smooth and seamless passenger transfer process.
It will be India's first net-zero emissions airport, the PMO said.
It has earmarked dedicated land to be developed as a forest park using trees from the project site and the NIA will preserve all native species and be nature positive throughout the development of the airport.
