JAI bags Jewar Airport project and will invest ₹4,500-cr

The state government in Uttar Pradesh has approved a proposal to award the contract for construction and operation of the mega Noida International Greenfield Airport in Jewar, Greater Noida, to Switzerland's Zurich Airport International (ZAI). Prior to this, ZAI had emerged as the highest bidder, offering a per-passenger fee of nearly ₹401 and will invest ₹4,500 crore in the aviation project. As such, it beats three other contenders, including GMR Group-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Adani Enterprises and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings. The state project monitoring and implementation committee has recommended that ZAI be awarded the contract for the airport. As per the techno-economic feasibility report, the airport would handle 70 million passengers and three million tons of cargo a year when all its phases are completed, state cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh said, elaborating that the project would be developed under the aegis of the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL). The new airport will be designed, developed and operated under a 40-year concession period and ZAI will invest funds in building the allied infrastructure. The new airport will decongest New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). In May this year, the state cabinet had approved the proposal to float a global tender for the project and also disbursed ₹895 crore towards rehabilitation and resettlement of affected landowners.