Yogi govt to showcase Jewar airport, Defence Corridor projects in US meet

The two projects estimated at Rs 357 billion are touted to be a cornerstone for UP

The Yogi Adityanath government would showcase its two mega projects viz. Jewar International Airport and UP Defence Corridor totalling over Rs 357 billion during the business meetings in major US cities this week.

Among the top US-based companies scheduled to hold parleys with a top-level UP delegation led by state health minister and government spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh, include Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Honeywell, which are marquee global aviation corporations.

The proposed Jewar International Airport in Greater Noida and the Defence Corridor in Bundelkhand region are projected to boost industrial climate in Uttar Pradesh, which has over the past decades not witnessed setting up of any mega industrial unit barring the National Capital Region (NCR).

A 5-member delegation, also comprising UP infrastructure and industrial development commissioner (IIDC) Anup Chandra Pandey, is leaving for USA today to confabulate with the US industry captains in San Francisco, New York, Washington and Stanford.

The other companies lined up for the series of business and investment meetings include Cisco, Amazon, Intel, Adobe, Oracle, 3M, Gilead Sciences, Pepsico, Medtronics, Guavus (Thales), ChargePoint, Visa, Uber, Varian Medical Systems, Master Card, Pfizer, WaterHealth and Huntsman.

The business meetings are being organised under the aegis of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF). On October 23, 2017, top business leaders from blue-chip companies under the USISPF umbrella had met UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath here to explore investment opportunities in the state.

While the Jewar airport is proposed to be developed at an investment of over Rs 157 billion, the Defence Corridor would get a total investment of Rs 200 billion. Both the flagship projects are being pushed up with the active cooperation of the Centre, especially in the backdrop of the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, when prime minister Narendra Modi would seek a re-election.

Meanwhile, the Jewar airport is projected to handle 70 million passengers and 3 million tonnes cargo annually, when it goes full steam. It is proposed to also serve as a cargo, pilot training and aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hub. Therefore, the state government wants to leverage the project to attract big US corporations with interest in the aviation sector.

On the other hand, UP Defence Corridor is projected to help India save massive arms import bill once it becomes fully operational. The government has identified 3000 hectares for the proposed corridor, which would span six districts in its catchment area viz. Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Chitrakoot. This project is also being showcased by UP to global investors as a template of the state industrial development roadmap. At the UP Investors Summit 2018 on 21-22 February, the Adityanath government had attracted total investment proposals of Rs 4.68 trillion across different sectors. The state will soon launch projects worth over Rs 500 billion.