Noida airport: Joint venture firm formed
Company gets a deadline of 2022
LUCKNOW/NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the creation of a joint venture firm which will execute the Noida international airport project.
The company has been set a deadline of 2022 for making the airport operational, the chief secretary’s office said in a statement issued on Tuesday night.
The statement, quoting UP civil aviation minister Nand Gopal Nandi, said: “The development of the Noida international airport near Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar is among the priorities of the state government. The project was conceived in 2000 and has been pending since 17 years, but the present state government, within a year, has obtained the site clearance and in-principle approval.”
Prabhat Kumar, chairman of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) said, “The Uttar Pradesh government and the Noida authority will each provide ₹1500 crore towards the project cost. Yeida and Greater Noida authority will each provide ₹500 crore to the airport company, which will start the land acquisition in July. The terms and conditions for obtaining environment clearance was also approved today (Tuesday).”
Nandi has also asked the officials involved to ensure that the airport is made operational by 2022. The MoU was signed in Lucknow by the civil aviation directorate and the authorities of Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Expressway.
Chief secretary Rajive Kumar said the project will not only aid all-round development of the state but also improve Uttar Pradesh’s image internationally and attract investors to the state.
Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh said, “The airport’s location in Jewar is strategic as it lies next to the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor’s township. This will boost connectivity and ensure job opportunities in the entire region of north India. Areas around Jewar have high unemployment rates and expediting this airport project will herald a new era for the youth of western UP.”
Principal secretary, civil aviation, SP Goyal said now that the MoU has been signed, the company will be formed and the process will be initiated for land acquisition. He also said the nodal agency of the project, Yeida, is working on preparing bid documents for selecting developers for the project. By July, the bidding process will start. Civil aviation director SS Gangwar said according to the techno-economic feasibility report, a total of 1,441 hectares in eight villages has to be acquired for the airport. An estimated ₹15,754 crore is proposed to be invested in four phases on a public-private partnership model. The project will have two runways and a total target capacity of six crore passengers and 40 lakh tonnes of cargo annually.