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Concessionaire for Jewar airport to be chosen today
GREATER NOIDA: The first time any Uttar Pradesh government ever thought about building an international airport in Jewar, Gautam Budh Nagar, was in 2001. Eighteen
GREATER NOIDA: The first time any Uttar Pradesh government ever thought about building an international airport in Jewar, Gautam Budh Nagar, was in 2001. Eighteen years on and several governments later, that thought has been married to action.
The state government is all set to select a concessionaire for developing the greenfield international airport project on Friday. Four companies participated in the bidding process and all have been shortlisted, though only one would be chosen to build the ambitious project.
The airport project that was meant to boost growth in the state, and especially western Uttar Pradesh, got stuck in red tape and bureaucratic rigamarole for many years, and most residents of Gautam Budh Nagar had given up hope of it ever becoming a reality. But with the present Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government forming the Noida International Airport Limited in September 25, 2018, solely to look after the airport project, the region is all set to see exponential growth over the next two or three years.
The NIAL is will choose one among the four companies, which is best suited to complete the project. All four companies—Delhi airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited, Zurich airport operator Flughafen Zurich AG, Adani Enterprises Limited and Anchorage Infrastructure Investment Holdings Limited — qualified for the bidding of the greenfield airport coming up along the 165km Yamuna Expressway that connects Greater Noida with Agra.
As per the rules, the company, which will offer the maximum revenue per passenger will get the rights to develop this airport, officials said.
“November 29, 2019, is going to be a historic day as that is when the developer of the airport will be finally selected — the one which will get the opportunity to develop the biggest greenfield airport in the country. This project is not only a means of growth for western Uttar Pradesh, but for the entire state. It will bring investment, boost industrial growth and fuel local economy along the Yamuna Expressway. We are ready for this big day,” Shailendra Bhatia, nodal officer, NIAL, said.
In 2001, then chief minister Rajnath Singh had proposed to build a greenfield Taj international airport and aviation hub (TIAH) in Jewar with an aim to boost local economy and create jobs by setting up industries near the civil aviation hub. However, the project did not see any development till 2009. In 2010, then UP chief minister Mayawati took up the project and got site clearances and approvals from the ministry of defence. But nothing happened at the site and the project continued to remain only on paper.
In 2012, the UPA-led government at the Centre said that an airport cannot come up within 150km of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. In 2013, then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav shifted the project to Agra, 200km from the IGI airport.
In 2014, Dr Mahesh Sharma, BJP leader and Gautam Budh Nagar MP, promised to revive the project in Jewar.
In 2015, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav expressed his willingness to develop the project and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) reserved 5,000 acres for it.
In 2016, both the state and Central governments pledged support to the project and put the project on the fast-track.
“We have completed the paperwork related to this project as per the timelines fixed to ensure that every process is completed exactly as stipulated. Be it land acquisition or getting clearances or the issuance of bid or selection of bidder, every single thing has happened as per the timelines fixed. Now, the work on this project will also start as per the fixed time frame,” Bhatia said.
