Uttar Pradesh to lay foundation stone of Noida International Airport by October

NEW DELHI: Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is committed to the building of airport capacity as part of its NABH (NextGen Airports for BHarat) Nirman initiative.nnThree key aspects of NABH Nirman are (1) fair and equitable land acquisition, (2) long-term master plan for airport and regional development and (3) balanced economics for all stakeholders. As part of NABH Nirman, MoCAcalled a meeting of all stakeholders to review the progress of setting up of Noida International Greenfield Airport at Jewar.nnFair and equitable land acquisitionnnNoida International Greenfield Airport is strategically located in respect of road distance about 72 km from IGI Airport, about 40 km from Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad, about 28 km from Greater Noida, 65 km from Gurugram and 130 km from Agra. It is well connected via Yamuna Expressway that will serve domestic and international tourists to reach Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan.nnMoCAhadgranted site clearance on July 06, 2017. The Uttar Pradesh Government appointed Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) as the implementing agency on its behalf in October 2017. YEIDA obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Defence on January 11, 2018. To expedite the implementation of Airport project, a Project Monitoring and Implementation Committee (PMIC) has been constituted on March 27, 2018.nnLandmeasuring 5,000 hectares (ha) has been identified by YEIDA for the project, out of which 240 ha. belongs to the State Govt and rest is with private owners. The first phase of acquisition of land measuring 1,327 ha.for construction of Terminal buildings and Runways is expected tobe initiated in the month of June, 2018by the YEIDA for necessary arrangements have been made.nnLong-term master plan for airport and regional developmentnnAirports are gateways of global connectivity and form the corner stone of creating strategic economic hubs. Development of an airport leads to construction of commercial and residential real estate closer to the airport and can transform the economic geography of the region. A well-designed aero-city around an airport can become an economic engine in and of itself.nnIt was decided that the planning for the airport will take into account holistic planning of the urban area around the airport. Intra and inter-city connectivity with various modes of transport (linkages with the existing Delhi airport, Railways, metro, buses, autos, private vehicle connectivity, etc.) were identified to bring down cost and time involved for passenger and freight movement.nnBalanced economics for all stakeholdersnnThe airport is to be developed on Public Private Partnership model (PPP). A detailed discussion was held on the financial viability of the airport and various models of awarding the PPP concession were deliberated upon. The State government and YEIDA assured that funds for land acquisition are availableand the process is expected to proceed smoothly.nnStakeholders and conclusionnnThe meeting was attended by Shri Suresh Prabhu, Hon?ble Minister for Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, R N Choubey, Secretary Ministry of Civil Aviation, Prabhat Kumar, Chairman, YEIDA and other senior officials of the Central and the State government.nnIn the meeting, timelines have been fixed for various activities and responsibilities assigned. The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to lay the foundation stone of Phase 1 of the project by October 2018.nn