1st phase of Noida intl airport to open by Sept 2024: YIAPL CEO

Noida: If Covid-19 pandemic recovery continues, the first phase of Noida International Airport (NIA), near Delhi, would be completed by September 2024 with one runway and capacity to handle 12 million passengers annually, a top project official said.

The work for the first phase of the greenfield project is underway and would cost over Rs 5,700 crore to complete, the official said and noted that the impact of inflation in the project cost was already factored in by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Zurich International Airport AG, the Swiss concessionaire. The NIA is located at Jewar district, Gautam Buddh Nagar of Uttar Pradesh State, around 80 km off Delhi. It is being developed in public-private partnership (PPP) mode by the UP government with YIAPL.

"It is a major project for the UP government and for us as well. I don't want to speculate on the further development of the pandemic, that's not something for me to say. If the recovery continues, our commitment is to deliver the airport within three years, by the end of October or early October of 2024," YIAPL CEO Christoph Schnellmann said. "We all are aware of the impact the pandemic has had on all of us in the past two years. One thing I would like to highlight is the fact the teams have embraced digital technologies in coming to terms with the impact of the pandemic. I am proud of this," Schnellmann said.

Multiple teams have been working on the project, an estimated 200 on the site, but not many of them have met each other in person, he said, stressing the advantage of technology during the pandemic. On impact of inflation, particularly fuel prices and construction material, in last two years, he said the first phase of the airport will have one runway and a capacity for handling 12 million passengers annually.