Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone for Noida International Airport (NIA), paving the way for Delhi-NCR to become the first megapolis in India to have two civilian airports for commercial flights by October 2024.
The airport at Jewar — which will ensure “uttam suvidha” in Uttar Pradesh — will begin its journey with one runway and a terminal to handle 1.2 crore passengers annually at an investment of Rs 5,730 crore. The ruling BJP will showcase the NIA as its one of the major achievement of the Yogi Adityanath Government in the State. Uttar Pradesh will go to polls next year.
Speaking at the occasion, Modi hit out at the Opposition, saying the airport is an example of how the earlier Governments in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre ignored development of the western part of the State.
“But it is now getting what it always deserved and is making its mark internationally under a double-engine BJP rule,” Modi said, adding that the Noida International Airport will become the logistical gateway of north India, and will have direct connectivity to a dedicated freight corridor.
The construction of this airport comes just weeks after the Prime Minister inaugurated the Kushinagar international airport in Uttar Pradesh to boost the country’s aviation sector. Another international airport is presently under-construction in Ayodhya.
Addressing a gathering in the poll-bound State, Modi asserted that infrastructure is “not politics for us but part of national policy”. “We are making sure that the projects do not get stuck, do not keep hanging.. we try to ensure that the infrastructure work is completed within the stipulated time,” Modi said. In an apparent dig at the Opposition, Modi said some political parties in the country have always kept their self-interest paramount.
“The thinking of these people is self-interest, their own development and that of their family,” Modi said.
“Whereas, we follow the spirit of Nation First... Sabka Saath - Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas - Sabka Prayas is our mantra,” Modi said while targeting the Opposition.
He said for the first time in seven decades, Uttar Pradesh has started getting what it has always deserved. “With the efforts of the double engine Government, today Uttar Pradesh is turning into the most connected region of the country,” Modi said.
Further stating that UP has become a focal point for investments by multinational companies, the PM said the State will have five international airports.
Taking a dig at previous Governments in UP and at the Centre, he said Uttar Pradesh, which the previous Governments kept in deprivation and darkness, to which they showed false dreams, that same state is now making a mark not just nationally but also internationally.
Modi highlighted the development activities in the poll-bound State and said the new airport will help the State become an export-centre whereby even MSMEs will have easier access to overseas markets.
The first phase of the airport is scheduled to be completed by 2024 and will have the capacity to serve around 1.2 crore passengers a year. The airport will expand to serve 70 million passengers by the end of phase 4, depending on passenger growth and traffic. In stage 1, there will be a two runways airport of 1,334 hectares for which an agreement has been signed.
In the following stage, the third runway in a 1,365-hectare area will come up for which land acquisition is under process. The 4th runway is on a 1,318-hectare area while a 5th runway has been proposed in the second stage.
Also present on the occasion was Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who said it was at the Modi’s direction that Asia’s biggest airport is being be built in Uttar Pradesh. Scindia said the airport, located in Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar district in western Uttar Pradesh, will bring investments worth Rs 34,000 crore and the first phase of the Greenfield project is expected to be completed in 2024 with a capacity of 1.2 crore passengers annually.
“By the last phase of development, the Noida International Airport will even surpass Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport and become India’s leading airport,” Scindia told the gathering. He said earlier, there were only four airports in Uttar Pradesh but now, there are nine airports and this (Jewar) will be the 10th airport in the State.