NOIDA: ATC – check. Runway – check. Navigation systems – check. Over 80% of work at the terminal building is complete, and the remaining is on track for the April 17 launch of the Noida International Airport in Jewar.
Officials said on Monday that the flooring of the terminal building is complete, and escalators and baggage handling systems have been installed.
Construction of the roof is underway, said Shailendra Bhatia, nodal officer of Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL), the agency monitoring the project.
“The terminal building has achieved significant progress, with further finishing works progressing rapidly. Once the terminal building is fully completed, the installation of 10 aerobridges will commence,” Bhatia said.
He said that 90% of the funds for the airport’s first phase of construction have been utilised.
“Rs 9,024 crore has been spent out of the total sanctioned budget of Rs 10,056 crore. This includes Rs 4,326 crore allocated by the UP govt for acquisition of 1,334 hectares of land and Rs 5,730 crore earmarked for project development by the concessionaire, Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Zurich AG,” the official added.
Work on the air traffic control (ATC) tower, including its glass façade and the operational systems mandated by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), has been completed.
“Land-side development, which includes the passenger terminal, access roads, parking facilities, and public transport connections, has made 78.7% progress. On the air-side, which comprises runways, taxiways, aprons and navigation systems, 88.9% of the work is complete,” Bhatia said.
The airport concessionaire, last month, applied for an aerodrome licence after a successful ‘validation’ test flight. In the exercise, an Airbus 320 touched down and took off from the runway to assess NIA’s airport’s flight readiness. On board were officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and AAI as passengers.
Officials said the aerodrome licence, which is mandatory for commercial operations to begin, is likely to be granted by March.
Authorities are aiming to start commercial flights from the airport from April 17. Built along the Yamuna Expressway, the Noida International Airport is meant to be an alternative to India’s busiest Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi.
Officials said they expect to cater to 12 million passengers annually in the first phase.
Separately, a 750m eight-lane elevated road with four cloverleaf interchanges that connect the airport with the Yamuna Expressway is ready. The elevated road is part of a 31km road that will eventually connect the airport with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at Ballabgarh in Haryana. This link road will take a few months to be completed.
Progress has also been made regarding the MRO hub and a second runway to be developed for the second phase of the airport project. Tender documents are being prepared and sent to the govt to advance the process for the MRO hub.
