The Uttar Pradesh State Government has instructed the developer of the Noida International Airport (NIA) to speed up the airport work so that the project is completed by early 2024 and the first flight scheduled for September 2024 takes off on time.
The directive comes after UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to the project site last month.
Adityanath, during his 11 September inspection of the airport site, had asked the officials of Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), which is building the airport, to expedite the work, by increasing the number of staff and machines.
A total of 700 workers and 39 machines had been employed so far on the site, which was increased to 2000 and 80 respectively, after the CM’s visit.
In the coming months after the monsoon subsides, the number of workers and machines is expected to increase further to 4000 and 400. Efforts are on to start the trial run by March 2024.
Work To Be Completed By 29 September 2024
The work on the Country’s biggest airport will be completed in four phases. As per the concession agreement, first phase for 12 million passengers per annum is to be completed and made operational within 1095 days, i.e., 29 September 2024, starting from the appointed date of 01 October 2021.
The YIAPL has selected Tata Projects Ltd. to undertake the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of Noida International Airport.
The construction work on the site started only in June 2022 after the selection of the EPC agency. If the construction work is not completed within the stipulated period, a fine of Rs 10 lakh will be imposed on the agency per day.
The Project
NIA is the upcoming greenfield airport at Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh which will enhance domestic as well as international connectivity to and from Delhi NCR, Noida and Western UP.
The project spread across an area of 5,000 acres, is being developed by Zurich Airport International AG (ZAIA) at an estimated cost of Rs 29,560 crore.
In November last year, the Swiss Airport company had won the contract to build and operate the airport.
Following this, Government of Uttar Pradesh signed the concession agreement with YIAPL to develop Noida International Airport.
YIAPL is a 100 per cent subsidiary of ZAIA, which has been incorporated as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to develop the greenfield airport.