The master plan of the proposed Noida International Airport at Jewar was approved by the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) on Friday (13 August).

The NIAL, the authority on the joint venture project, consists of the Uttar Pradesh government, the Noida Industrial Development Authority, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority as stakeholders.

The master plan was developed by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of the project concessionaire Zurich International Airport, reports Business Standard.

The Yogi Adityanath government approved the Jewar airport project in December 2017. The concessionaire agreement between Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up by Zurich international AG and Noida international airport, was signed in October 2020.

Rs 29,650 crore airport will be developed, operated and maintained by the European company under a 40-year concession. The company plans to invest Rs 4,663 for this purpose in the first phase of the Jewar Airport project.

The first phase of the project has to be completed by 2023. However, the timeline, formulated before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, may see some changes.

When the first phase becomes operational, the Jewar International Airport will handle around 12 million passengers every year.

The project will be spread over an area of 5,000 hectares and may have six to eight runways.