Taj International Airport
Once completed, it will be an alternative to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi by relieving its high and rising traffic load, and is planned to be India's and Asia's largest airport. The Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) will be the implementing agency on behalf of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The airport is to be developed through a public-private partnership model (PPP). In 2019, Flughafen Zürich AG, the operator of Zurich Airport in Switzerland won the bid to build and operate the airport for 40 years.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is also constructing a 31-kilometre long (19 mi) greenfield highway from the airport to Sector-65, Faridabad on Delhi–Mumbai Expressway. The proposed plan in Jewar is to build a two-runway airport by 2024, and at a future date, to expand it into a 7,200 acres (2,900 ha) eight-runway airport. According to the plan, the airport will handle 1.2 crore (12 million) passengers per annum initially and up to 6-12 crore passengers per annum, after its expansion over a period of 30 years. It will be the third commercial airport in the National Capital Region, after Indira Gandhi International Airport and Hindon Airport.
History
The project was first proposed in 2001 by then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh as a greenfield Taj International Aviation Hub (TIAH) at Jewar near Greater Noida, adjacent to the Yamuna Expressway. The Central Government cleared the techno-feasibility report for setting up TIAH in April 2003. It was to be built at an approximate cost of ₹5000 crores by the year 2007–2008. The project was put on hold during the UPA regime because the project site was within 150 km (93 mi) of an existing greenfield airport in Delhi. This site was within 72 km (45 mi) of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), Delhi. Its operator GMR Group had protested against plans for another international airport within 150 km (93 mi) of the existing Delhi Airport, claiming that it would impact traffic and revenue generation. GMR has the right of first refusal (RoFR) on a new airport within 150 km (93 mi) of the existing Delhi Airport. The RoFR was to ensure that GMR gets preference in bidding for the Greater Noida airport in case its bid price is within 10% of the lowest bidder.
When the Akhilesh Yadav-led government was formed in Uttar Pradesh in 2012, it contemplated shelving the project while proposing a new international airport in Agra. In June 2013, the State Government decided on the Kurrikupa village near Hirangaon, Tundla in the Firozabad district as the site for the proposed airport. In January 2014, the Defence Ministry raised some objections regarding the site near Tundla. The state government allocated land near Etmadpur for the proposed airport in November 2014.
In 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was voted to power at the federal level and the project was again shifted back to Jewar. The Civil Aviation Ministry cleared the proposal for the new airport to be set up on 2,200 acres (890 ha) of land in June 2015. In July 2017, the Union Chief Secretary for Aviation warned the Uttar Pradesh government to expedite the planning process as Hisar Airport was also pushing for its competing Union Cabinet approval for building another airport to serve the NCR region, thus prolonging the return on investment for both airports due to a still-feasible-but-diluted viability for both. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) gave an in-principle approval to the Uttar Pradesh government to build the airport in May 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on 25 November 2021.
Location
The Noida International Airport (NIA) is located around 7 km (4.3 mi) north of Jewar Town in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh in India. Noida, Dadri, and Jewar are the three tehsils (sub-divisions) in this district. In October 2017, for the first phase of building the airport, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) acquired land in villages such as Mukimpur Siwara, Dayanat Pur, Ramner, Kishorpur, Banwari Bas, Ranhera, Rohi, and Parohi. Similarly in January 2021, YEIDA started taking possession of land for the phase-2 expansion in villages such as Ranhera, Shahpur Nangla, Birampur, Karauli Bangar, and Dayanat Pur (Jewar Tehsil).
The project site is located 72 kilometres (45 mi) from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), the airport that currently serves the needs of the entire Delhi NCR and is quickly reaching its peak capacity. Jewar Airport is 36 km (22 mi) from Bulandshahr, 38 km (24 mi) from Palwal, 60 km (37 mi) from Noida and 70 km (43 mi) from Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Mathura. It is about 40 km (25 mi) from Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, 65 km (40 mi) from Aligarh, 65 km (40 mi) from Gurgaon and 130 km (81 mi) from Agra. It will be connected to the Yamuna Expressway, allowing domestic and international tourists to reach Agra, Mathura, and Vrindavan.
Connectivity
Alternate airports nearby
Under the National Capital Region Transport Plan, the Hisar Airport (190 km Northwest of IGI & 270 km Northwest of Noida International Airport) is being developed as an alternate to the IGI Airport.
Road
The Noida International Airport (NIA) shall be connected with various highways in Delhi NCR like Ghaziabad–Bulandshahr–Aligarh (NH-34) and Delhi–Ghaziabad–Meerut Expressway.
The NHAI is also constructing a 31-kilometre long (19 mi) highway which will connect Jewar Airport with Faridabad on Delhi–Mumbai Expressway. The greenfield alignment is as follows (east to west):
- Yamuna Expressway at Dayanat Pur village, Jewar
- KGP Expressway at Mohna village, Ballabhgarh
- Delhi–Mumbai Expressway at Sector-65, Faridabad
Railway
Metro trains
- Noida International Airport is also proposed to be connected to Noida Metro via the Greater Noida route; and the Delhi Metro via the Faridabad–Ballabhgarh–Palwal–Jewar route.
- Personal rapid transit (PRT) from amusement park to Noida International Airport is included in the proposed film city project, located in Greater Noida's Sector 21 to the airport.
Semi-High Speed Railway
- "Ghaziabad-Jewar RRTS", 71.1 km long rapid rail with 11 stations costing ₹16,000 cr, will be completed in 2 phases by 2031.
- "Palwal-Noida International Airport-Khurja Railway" (PNAKR line), 61 km long line will have a new railway station at Noida airport which will be connected to Palwal 28 km to west on New Delhi-Mumbai main line and Khurja 33 km to east on Howrah–Delhi main line (Amritsar-Kolkata line).
- "Hisar Airport-Noida International Airport Railway line" (HANAR Line): From PNAK line at Palwal, the Noida Airport will be directly connected with IGI (via "Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor" (HORC) and "Delhi-Jaipur line") and Hisar Airport (via HORC and "Hisar International Airport-IGI Airport line" (HIAIGI Line) through Jhajjar-Rohtak-Hansi-Hisar).
- "Noida International Airport-Chola Railway", 20 long line will connect multi logistics have at Noida airport to existing chola railway station to west on "Howrah–Delhi main line".
High-Speed Railway
- High-Speed Railway (HSR) station in the proposed Delhi-Varanasi HSR corridor, included in India's High-Speed Rail project.
Construction
The project was first proposed in 2001 by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Rajnath Singh, as Taj International Aviation Hub (TIAH) in Jewar. However, in 2012 the project was shelved by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav as he planned to build a new airport near Tundla, Firozabad District. The project was revived in 2018 by the BJP government, with allocation of ₹ 1,260 crores for land acquisition, to build the airport under the Public–Private Partnership (PPP) model. In 2019, the land acquisition for the phase-1 commenced, which completed in 2020, Flughafen Zürich AG (Zurich Airport AG) was given the contract for developing and operating the airport for 40 years, and the tender for 760 m (2,490 ft) road connecting the airport to the Yamuna Expressway was awarded. In 2021, after Airports Authority of India (AAI) approved the master plan for the airport, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on 25 November, and Zurich Aurport AG started the construction. In 2022, Tata Projects Limited was awarded the civil construction contract. In 2023, the airport was awarded the airport code "DXN" by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Ecological threats
India's environmental ministry had imposed certain conditions for granting approval for the Noida airport, conditions imposed regarding the protection of Dhanauri Wetlands remain ignored by the Uttar Pradesh government and no action has been taken to designate it as Ramsar Site, it's land has been allocated by YEIDA for construction resulting in the reduction of the wetland area, and it is under the threat.
Current status
- Jul 2022: Tender for "Faridabad-Noida Airport Expressway", 31 km (19 mi)-long spur from Sector-65 Faridabad (on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway) to the airport's site, was awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
- Aug 2022: The airport will be completed for testing in March 2024, and will become operational for traffic in October 2024.
- Sep 2023: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) assigns the airport's code as 'DXN'.
- Oct 2023: More than 50% of work has been completed on the airport.
- Apr 2024: The airport held its first calibration test flight of the Döppler Very High Frequency Omni Range (DVOR) equipment of the runway with the help of a Beechcraft King Air B300 aircraft, headed by a private firm.
- May 2024: The expressway linking the airport to Faridabad will open by December 2024 to connect the Yamuna Expressway, while the rest will be coming June 2025.