Spread Over an Area of 5, 000 Hectares and Featuring Four Runways Jewar Airport to be the Biggest Airport in India It is expected by the government that the Jewar international airport shall be operationally within the next five years. The airport will be catering to around.30 to 50 million passengers annually over the next 10 to 15 years. With a total of four runways and with an area of above 5, 000 hectares, the future international airport located at Jewar shall be the biggest airport in India.
These claims come from the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority or YEIDA which is also the nodal agency for the said project. The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi covers a total land area of 2, 066 hectares and it is proposed to reach its complete capacity by 2023-24. At present, this airport handles around 60 million passengers every year and there are chances of this number doubling by 2023. The ambitious project was reviewed by Rajeev Nayan Choubey, the Union Civil Aviation Secretary on Tuesday at the central office of the YEIDA or the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority, the nodal agency for the said project. Choubey, in company of the aviation experts and members of the Airports Authority of India or AAI, was briefed at the office of the Yamuna Expressway authority office located at Greater
Noida in Sector Omega-I. The briefing continued for a time span of four hours following which all the members and officials left for site inspection near Jewar.It is being expected by the government that the Jewar airport shall be operational in the coming five to six years and it shall be catering to around 30 to 50 million passengers annually over the coming ten to fifteen years. Shailendra Bhatia, the officer-in-charge of YEIDA said, “The authority possesses sufficient land on the Yamuna expressway, therefore it is possible to expand the airport if required. This airport shall be the largest international airport in India.” However, the civil aviation secretary is of the view that the Jewar international airport should start operations prior to the Delhi international airport gaining it complete capacity, said Bhatia. The district administration of Gautam Budh Nagar and YEIDA are planning to start the procedure of land acquisition for the said project in the month of July. Groundwork for the same has already begun. Prabhat Kumar, the chairman of YEIDA, said, “He (the aviation secretary) has solicited us to come up with the bid document within the month of August in the year 2018 for the selection of developer. According to the deadlines that have been fixed, we should be prepared with the presentation of the bid document before the month of August in 2018. He further said that the Indira Gandhi International airport shall reach its full capacity by the year 2024 with the aviation sector growing manifold. Hence, the Jewar international airport assignment will spring up as one of the largest airport projects in India. Obviously, it shall be larger in comparison to the IDI airport when developed to its complete capacity.” The favored developer for the Jewar international airport shall be the GMR group which also operates the IGI airport of Delhi. the group shall also be having the right of initial refusal for the said new project. The IGI airport in Delhi features a total of three runways and by the end of next year, the airport shall be featuring its fourth runway. The experts and officials associated with the development of the Jewar airport said that in its initial phase, the proposed airport will feature two runways while the other two runways shall be added in the second stage of development. The airport will also have the potential of further expansion in the third phase of development. Captain Gurcharan Bhatura, an aviation expert and the director general of Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism said, “If size is taken into consideration then the Jewar international airport shall be the largest airport in India because it is spread over an area of 5, 000 hectares. On the other hand, the Indira Gandhi International airport earmarks 2, 066 hectares of land while the one located in Navi Mumbai does not have enough land meant for expansion. In its development phase, the Jewar international airport will not have the capability of competing with the IGI airport as far as flight traffic is concerned. But yes, it is one airport project that has the potential of being the largest in India. It possesses the ability of meeting the growing aviation requirements in India.
Choubey and other aviation experts reached the office of the YEIDA at around 11.30 am. Here, PwC or Pricewaterhouse Coopers delivered a presentation on the timelines and the progress to be clearly followed for the said airport assignment. YEIDS hired PwC in the month of December in 2017 for the preparation of the TEFR or techno-economic feasibility report. PwC was directed by Choubey in the field of studying all the new airport projects like the ones at Kochi, Delhi and Navi Mumbai for finding out the main obstacles that they had faced at the development stage. According to Kumar, “PwC will be studying and listing all the obstacles normally faced by an airport project. This will help in doing away with the obstacles in advance which would further help in saving a good amount of time. The time that is saved can be used for other necessary procedures. This will also help us in completing important formalities and selecting a good developer according to deadlines.� The work on the said project has been expedited by the government of UP with the Union government granting full support to the project with the objective of creating employment and investment in the region.