Mobilising 2,500 Workers And 400 Machines: How Noida International Airport Is Shaping Up

The work on the first phase of the Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh is progressing on time and will start functioning by 2024-end, according to its CEO Christoph Schnellman.

Tata Projects, which is the contractor for the project has completed the earthwork, levelling, and excavation work across the project site. 

Work has now moved to vertical construction and building of substructures.

Over the next few months, multiple buildings will be seen on the site, including the passenger terminal building, office blocks, sewage and water treatment plants, and electrical substations.

The particulars of structure being developed in the first phase of the airport includes:

1. Runway: 4,000-metre-long and 45-metre-wide

2. Air Traffic Control: 40-metre-long ATC tower which will provide a 360-degree view of the airport to air traffic controllers.

3. Passenger Terminal Building: Spread over an area of over 34,000 sqm (equivalent to four football fields), the building will have the capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum and 1 lakh air traffic movement.

4. 28 Parking Stands

It should be noted that aircraft movements include landings as well as departures. One departure and one arrival is counted as two aircraft movements.

Mobilising Men and Machinery

The Jewar airport is understood to be the "most important" project of the state government and is being personally monitored by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Adityanath, during his inspection of the airport site in September 2022 had asked the project developers to speed up the airport work, by increasing the number of staff and machines, so that the project is completed by early 2024 and the first flight scheduled for September 2024 takes off on time.

According to figures shared by officials, more than 2,600 people are currently working at the site, and is expected to reach 6,000.

Apart from these more than 400 heavy and small machineries have been installed at the site so far.

As part of the civil work, around 32,000 cubic metres of concrete has been poured till date and 14,000 tonnes of steel has been used for the construction.

The construction of the Noida Airport marked a milestone on 16 January with a "mega pour" of 1,800 cubic metres of concrete and 350 tonne of cement in 20 hours.

To put entire effort in perspective, a total of 4.2 million man-hours have been spent without injury till date on building the airport, deemed to be India’s largest airport upon completion.

Phase-wise Expansion

The airport will be developed in four phases, with two interconnected terminals and an annual passenger capacity of 70 million.

The first phase spread over 1,334 hectares will have one runway, cargo hub along with a terminal that will cater to domestic and international passengers. As per the concession agreement, the first phase for 12 million passengers per annum is to be completed and made operational by September 2024.

The first expansion of the airport- construction of the second runway and the terminal building - will start once it reaches 80 per cent of the 12 million passengers per year capacity.

Similarly, the development of the third, fourth and fifth runways will begin when footfall increases from 12 million to 30 million, 50 million and 70 million.