UP government forms committee for fruit processing unit near Noida Airport

The hub is meant to facilitate the export of tinned fruits and juices, particularly benefiting farmers from Jewar and surrounding districts

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has formed a committee comprising officials from the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), the World Bank, and Bharat Biotech subsidiary Innova Agri Park to develop a financial model for a fruit-based processing unit near the Noida International Airport’s multi-modal cargo hub, the Yamuna expressway industrial development authority (Yeida) on Tuesday.

The food processing unit cannot be situated within the airport premises because a gamma radiation facility is key to its cleaning and food preservation processes, officials added. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The hub is meant to facilitate the export of tinned fruits and juices, particularly benefiting farmers from Jewar and surrounding districts by providing a market for their produce, officials said. The food processing unit cannot be situated within the airport premises because a gamma radiation facility is key to its cleaning and food preservation processes, officials added.

“Yeida has got adequate land available in Sector 22E, and we have suggested to the state government that we will give it to them. This project has the potential to benefit farmers who grow fruits including mangos and guavas,” said Arun Vir Singh, chief executive officer of Yeida and NIAL.

Officials said that fruits will first be brought to the gamma radiation centre for cleaning, peeling, and other processes, and then will be transferred to the processing unit from where they will be exported through the cold chain system.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced in September 2025 that the government will set up a radiation treatment plant near the airport. This facility will help the state meet the stringent export standards set by the US and European countries.

Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, who chaired a meeting on Monday with representatives of Innova Food Park, the World Bank, AISATS, NIA concessionaire YIAPL, and NIAL on an export hub at Noida International Airport in Jewar, directed all stakeholders to coordinate efforts to create a horticulture-based export hub and prepare its financial model. A report on the plan is likely to be submitted by the end of this month, said officials.

Officials said that the proposed processing unit will be integrated with a cold chain system developed by AISATS, the company responsible for the cargo hub, ensuring product freshness and swift export to international markets. They also said that the World Bank will provide ₹350 crore to establish the facility.

Officials said that the project will help local farmers in Bulandshahr, Meerut, Hapur, Aligarh and other nearby areas to get better options to sell fruits.

“There is a protected fruit belt of mangoes and guavas in western Uttar Pradesh districts including Bulandshahr, Meerut and Aligarh. Just 50 km away from the Noida airport in Bulandshahr’s Siyana there is a big, protected fruit belt. Once this processing plant is set up, farmers will be able to get better prices for their crops,” said Kripal Singh, a mango farmer of Siyana, Bulandshahr.