Hindon airport expansion: 6.8 hectares land procurement to cost about ₹65 crore

Officials believe the long-term plan for the civil terminal’s expansion requires about 6.8 hectares of land, for which the district administration will provide land at Sikandarpur

Ghaziabad: The rates to procure 6.8 hectares of land for the Hindon civil terminal expansion are expected to be finalised soon, and the land procurement may cost about ₹65 crore, the Ghaziabad district administration officials have said.

The civil terminal, which began operations in October 2019, serves passengers from Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Delhi, and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh. (HT Archive)

The civil terminal at Sikandarpur, near the IAF’s Hindon air base, is spread over an area of about 22,050 square metres (sqms), and the civil flights use the runway of the IAF base for operations.

Officials believe the long-term plan for the civil terminal’s expansion requires about 6.8 hectares of land, for which the district administration will provide land at Sikandarpur.

“A committee of officials, formed for the purpose of ascertaining land purchase rates, has chalked out the rates that will be offered to landowners. In a recent meeting, the district magistrate asked us to verify certain issues and once this final survey is complete, the rates will be finalised once approved by the divisional commissioner. We estimate that the cost to procure 6.8 hectares of land is about ₹65 crore,” said Vivek Mishra, additional district magistrate (land acquisition).

The procurement will be on direct purchase mode from landowners, Mishra added.

“We are hopeful that the land procurement for the airport’s long-term action plan will be finalised soon, and landowners have also given their consent. The cost of the land will be borne by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), and the district administration will act as a facilitator. We expect that the plan will get underway in 2026 and more passenger and other infrastructure facilities will be added,” said Atul Garg, Ghaziabad MP and chairperson of the airport coordination committee.

In November, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials said they had chalked out another, short-term, plan that involved expanding the civil terminal by about 770 metres. According to officials, the short-term plan is expected to cost about ₹8.5 crore and will take about 8-9 months to complete.

On September 17, during a visit to the civil airport, Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said, “The terminal is saturated, and we have planned to expand it. We are also in talks with the Indian Air Force to increase terminal bays.”

The civil terminal, which began operations in October 2019, serves passengers from Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Delhi, and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh.