The making of India's first digital airport

Noida International Airport (NIA), India's proposed first net-zero emission airport will also be the country's first digital airport. And the process for making it has set into motion.

In line with the Union Government's digital first approach, the airport's implementing authority Yamuna International Airport Private Ltd (YIAPL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, recently selected ICAD Holding Ltd as Master System Integrator (MSI) consultant for the development of this digital airport.

ICAD has been roped in to support NIA with the systems integration design, integration program management and integration of ICT and airport systems. It will also lead the core airport systems implementation and integration.

This is an important milestone in the making of the airport which is stated to be India's biggest once completed. Even before start of construction the implementing authority has preferred to select the MSI and this indicates the seriousness and focus on digital tools.

The mandate for ICAD is for design, installation, integration, and maintenance of ICT systems required to build a modern, digital airport.

Wipro Ltd and Ross & Baruzzini from USA have been onboarded as partners by ICAD to provide the comprehensive MSI consultancy services.

NIA has been working with an objective to set a new benchmark as a digital airport, with the implementation of new age technology to provide seamless and mostly contactless flow of passengers through the airport. The practice of contactless which came into being during the Covid-19 pandemic is going to stay.

NIA has stated that this will be supported by integrated systems, services and the use of technologies such as indoor navigation, passenger flow management, and data analytics. The digital environment to be set up at NIA will include paperless digital processing across all checkpoints in line with the Civil Aviation Ministry's DigiYatra Policy.

YIAPL, which has been incorporated as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to develop the greenfield Noida International Airport at Jewar in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh is planning to complete construction of the first phase of the project in 2024.

Tata Projects has been appointed as the EPC contractor of the project which will come up on 1,334 acres land. Haptic Architect Nordic Grimshaw & STUP have been appointed as designer and architects of this project which will come in 4 phases.

The Government of Uttar Pradesh having 37.50 per cent stake in the project signed the concession agreement with YIAPL on October 7, 2020, to commence the development of NIA, at Jewar, a backward region of UP.

This will be the second airport in the National Capital Region and is expected to take the load off the existing airport at Delhi which is handled by the GMR Group currently.

The digital drive at NIA will now prompt other top airports in the country namely Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai to step up their digital edge as there will be no escaping from investment in digital.

(The author is a Mumbai based researcher & writer)