Jewar airport: Swiss team visits site, to soon apply to MHA for security clearance

Zurich Airport International AG will soon be applying to Union Ministry of Home Affairs for security clearance as it plans to begin construction of the Jewar airport this year, officials said on Wednesday.

A team of the Switzerland-based developer including CEO Stephan Widrig, CFO Lukas Brosi among others met the officials of Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) in Greater Noida and later visited the project site in Jewar.

The visiting team held a meeting with NIAL officials including CEO Arun Vir Singh during which a detailed presentation was made regarding the upcoming international greenfield airport, billed to be the biggest in India when fully operational.

"A presentation was made by project consultant PwC and various aspects about development of the project discussed. The Zurich Airport team then visited the airport site and made observations about overall infrastructure," Shailendra Bhatia, NIAL's Nodal officer, said.

He said the visitors expressed satisfaction over the good road connectivity already available -- the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and the Yamuna Expressway -- nearby.

"Now the developer will prepare a master plan for airport development and present it to the government as well as to NIAL. It'll also soon apply to the MHA for getting security clearance for the project," Bhatia told PTI.

The Swiss firm had on November 29 emerged as the highest bidder to develop the Jewar airport on the outskirts of Delhi, outbidding competitors like Adani Enterprises, DIAL and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holding.

The entire project will be spread over 5,000 hectares and estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore, officials said.

The airport, the third in the national capital region after Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport and Ghaziabad's Hindon airport, is touted to have six to eight runways, the most in India, when fully built, according to officials.

The first phase of the airport would be spread over 1,334 hectare and cost Rs 4,588 crore as it is expected to be completed by 2023, the officials said.