PM Modi to lay foundation stone for Noida International Airport on 25 Nov; a look at the 20-year grand plan

Passenger terminals with 70 million capacity, 186 airport stands, a cargo terminal with one million tonne capacity and excellent connectivity by an expressway, a metro, and high-speed rail — this is the grand plan for the Noida International Airport in 20 years time. The foundation stone is to be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 November. The airport is expected to be operational from 2024 but the grand plans for the facility of the developer, Zurich Airport International AG, and the Uttar Pradesh government are much bigger. This is also a major project to be showcased by the Yogi Adityanath government in the 2022 assembly elections with the prime minister and chief minister coming for the foundation-laying ceremony on 25 November to Jewar, where a big public rally will be held as well.

Details accessed by News18 show that the main airport access will have a public transportation centre, a Metro station and a high-speed rail station. The airport will be connected by the Yamuna Expressway, Noida Metro and high-speed rail line. The over 800-km long high-speed rail line proposed between Delhi and Varanasi will also have a station at the Noida International Airport.

The passenger terminals are expected to have 70 million capacity while the cargo logistics and MRO Zone coming up at the airport will have a 1 million tonne cargo capacity. Two CAT III compliant runways will come up at the airport, termed the north runway and the south runway. A big highlight of the project will be up to 186 airport stands to house a high number of planes. An airport hotel, a VVIP terminal, an open-access fuel farm, airport rescue and fire fighting building and a big rain harvesting pond are also planned for the complex, News18 has learnt. As much as 167 acres is also being kept aside for real estate development in the complex. The Noida International Airport is being developed by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG. The government of Uttar Pradesh signed the concession agreement with YIAPL on October 7, 2020, and the company will be responsible for implementing the public-private partnership project together with the UP government, NOIDA (New Delhi Okhla Industrial Development Authority) and Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority. Besides the necessary capital investments in the infrastructure, YIAPL shall pay a fixed passenger fee to the state-owned authority starting on the sixth year of commissioning of the new airport. The NIAL is meanwhile the implementing agency on behalf of the government of UP, which was incorporated as a joint venture in 2018 with an authorised capital of Rs. 10,000 crore.