Noida Airport's first phase funding sealed with Rs 3,725-cr loan from SBI

The Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL) has raised Rs 3,725 crore debt from State Bank of India for the development of the upcoming Noida International Airport, officials said on Tuesday.

YIAPL is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Swiss developer Zurich Airport International AG (ZAIA) and has been incorporated to develop the airport in Jewar, which is around 70 km from the main Delhi region.

The Uttar Pradesh government was also informed about the complete funding for the first phase of the project on Tuesday, the officials said.

The 'financing agreement' was signed between YIAPL, State Bank of India (SBI), and Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), the project's nodal agency set up by the Uttar Pradesh government, they said.

"YIAPL has raised Rs 3,725 crore in debt from SBI to be repaid over a period of 20 years with one-year moratorium post completion of the project. This is one of the largest financings in an Indian greenfield airport. The financial close marks another crucial milestone for the project, bringing it closer to the start of construction works," an official statement read.

The project is being funded on a debt-to-equity ratio of 65:35. ZAIA, a fully owned subsidiary of Flughafen Zurich AG, is the main shareholder of YIAPL and is injecting Rs 2,005 crore as equity into the development of the Noida International Airport, it added.

"We now eagerly look forward to the development of the airport in close collaboration with our partners including NIAL and SBI. This partnership will boost economic growth and employment in the state of Uttar Pradesh and will bolster Indian aviation's growth story," YIAPL CEO Christoph Schnellmann said.

NIAL CEO Arun Vir Singh said Tuesday's agreement will enable the team to focus on construction works for airport development.

"We are all eagerly waiting to build India's leading airport which will boast of quality, efficiency, technology and sustainability. We are very excited and all set to move ahead with a vision to co-create world-class aviation infrastructure," he said.

The project's nodal officer, Shailendra Bhatia, explained that "financial close" meant that all funding-related formalities have been completed, paving the way for the construction of the airport.

"This was officially the bidding process' last milestone," Bhatia told PTI.

"The agreement sheds light on how the funding for the first phase would be ensured and its details shared with all stakeholders, including the UP government," he said.

According to the agreement, YIAPL would pay 65 per cent of the cost incurred on the project through funding from SBI while the rest would be paid by its parent company, the officer explained.

The Noida International Airport in Jewar is billed to be India's biggest airport upon completion. The first phase of the greenfield project is planned to come up in an area of 1,334 hectares with two runways, according to officials.