Over 2,600 Workers, 400 Machines At Noida Airport Site For Its Timely Completion

Over 2,600 workers along with more than 400 machines are on site and work for the first phase of the Noida International Airport is on track for timely completion, officials said on Tuesday.

Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, is developing the greenfield airport at Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar, some 75 km off Delhi, for the Uttar Pradesh government.

YIAPL CEO Christoph Schnellmann said earthwork was completed earlier this year and vertical construction has started including on the terminal building and runway.

"The development of the airport is making significant headway and is on track for timely completion," Schnellmann told reporters.

He said the airport will open for commercial flights by the end of 2024 with one runway and a terminal building while trial flights are expected four-to-six months before that.

Asked if there is any pressure on completing the airport by the 2024 general elections, Schnellmann told PTI, “We are working hand in hand with the state government and the Union government to deliver the airport as per the terms of our concession agreement. Together we will achieve the opening of the airport by the end of the next year.” The airport is billed to be India's largest upon completion in four phases and will be spread over an area of 5,000 sq hectares.

Project COO Kiran Jain said, "The first phase would be spread in an area of over 1,300 hectares and is expected to be ready by the end of next year." There will be a 3,900-metre-long runway and a terminal building with an annual passenger handling capacity of 1.2 crore upon completion of the first phase, Mr Jain added.

Shailendra Bhatia, the airport project's nodal officer for the UP government, told PTI, “We have been inspecting the site regularly and have asked the developer to monitor the milestones regularly. In case of any shortcomings, we have asked them to rectify it.” According to figures shared by the Noida International Airport, over 2,600 workers along with more than 400 heavy and small machines are currently deployed at the airport site and the peak strength is expected to touch 6,000.

To date, NIA partners have completed over 42 lakh man-hours of work without injury, it said in a statement.

So far 32,000 cubic metres of concrete and 14,000 tons of steel have been used in construction, it added.

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