UP inks pact for Noida airport with Zurich AG

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Mar 2, 2021

 

The Uttar Pradesh government has signed the State Support Agreement (SSA) for the proposed Jewar greenfield international airport, Greater Noida with the Swiss concessionaire, Zurich Airport International (Zurich AG).

 

The agreement was signed here on Monday between Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) and Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), the special purpose vehicle floated by Zurich AG to develop the mega project in Gautam Buddha Nagar district.

 

Speaking on the occasion, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath warned officials against any slackness and red tape, which could delay the flagship project. He noted the project had been hanging fire for 30 years before it was set on priority by his regime after coming to power in March 2017.

 

The Authority is expected to handover the possession of 90 per cent of nearly 1,365 hectares of land required for the first phase of the project to YIAPL this month.

 

The concession agreement was signed with Zurich AG on October 7, 2020 and the terms of the pact mandated that the SSA with the state be signed within 180 days. Now, the state will link the airport project with modern public transport infra spanning roads, railways, metro rail etc.

 

Yogi directed the Gautam Buddha Nagar and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) officials to expedite the process of land acquisition and resettlement of affected land owners, so that the project meets its set timelines.

 

He said while two international airports were already operational at Lucknow and Varanasi, the proposed international airports at Jewar, Kushinagar and Ayodhya would make UP a hub of international aviation in the years to come. The state is also aiming to develop 2^nd World War airstrips in UP into full fledged airports.

 

According to the techno-economic feasibility report, the Jewar airport would handle 70 million passengers and 3 million tonnes cargo annually when fully developed in phases.

 

The new airport will be designed, developed and operated under a 40 year concession period and Zurich AG will invest more than Rs 4,500 crore in the first phase of the project. It will also decongest the New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and boost industrial development in the Noida and Yamuna Expressway region.