Second NCR airport may be set up in either Jewar or Bhiwadi

NEW DELHI: The National Capital Region (NCR) may need a second airport within the next three years and the government has narrowed down the list of possible sites

NEW DELHI: The National Capital Region (NCR) may need a second airport within the next three years and the government has narrowed down the list of possible sites to two. The aviation ministry said the second airport could either be set up in Jewar in Greater Noida or Bhiwadi in Rajasthan.

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“The NCR will need a second airport soon,” said Mahesh Sharma, minister of state for civil aviation.

The earlier projections for the requirement of a second airport in the NCR in the next seven years will have to be reviewed with the government announcing its ambitious Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).

The scheme sets a fare range of Rs 1,770-Rs 4,070 to encourage air travel. It will also set up a viability gap fund to support airlines that fly between metro sand smaller cities.

“With the RCS, the load on Delhi and other metro airports will increase further. As opposed to 5-7 years, we might need to build the second airport in the next three years,” said Sharma.

After a proposal to set up the second airport in Rohtak was rejected, the government now has narrowed down the options to Jewar in Greater Noida in UP and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. “We will either set up the second airport in Bhiwadi or Jewar,” the MoS said.

“The earlier the government starts work on the second airport the better, otherwise we will face a Mumbai-like situation soon,” said aviation expert Rajji Rai.

HT first reported on April 13 that the UP government was no longer against setting up an airportin Jewar. Infact, it had sought the Centre’s permission for setting up an international airport in Greater Noida.

“The UP government’s proposal for Jewar is still being examined,” said a ministry official.

The ministry has sought the views of the DGCA, the Airports Authority of India and the defence ministry for granting the initial site clearance approval for the project. Sources said 2,378 acres had been acquired for the project.

The government has already granted the initial site clearance approval for the Bhiwadi airport project in Rajasthan. It will be located around 80km from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Around 1,700 hectares have already been identified for the project.