UP government asks officials to ensure start of commercial operations of Noida Airport by December

The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday asked officials to ensure that the commercial operations of Noida International Airport must begin by December this year.

State Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra issued the directions after a review meeting with concerned officials and a physical inspection of the airport site in the Jewar area of Gautam Buddh Nagar.

The development for the first of four phases of the project is underway.

The chief secretary's visit came close on the heels of the airport developer Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL) pushing the commercial operations to April 2025 from the earlier projected date of September 29, 2024.

YIAPL is a special purpose vehicle of Zurich Airport International AG, the concessionaire for the mega greenfield project of the UP government.

During the review meeting, YIAPL informed the chief secretary that contractor Tata Projects is working on the completion of the ATC (air traffic control) building.

"The building will be handed over to the Airport Authority of India for ATC equipment installation by August, and the installation will be completed by September," according to an official statement.

Currently, work on electric lighting is underway on the runway and apron. 

Navigation equipment, including the glide path antenna and localizer, has already been installed near the runway, it stated.

"The chief secretary directed officials concerned that all equipment to be installed by the Airport Authority of India must be completed by September... He instructed them that the airport's development should be completed on time by September 2024, and commercial operations must commence by December," the statement said.

During the inspection of the terminal building, the concessionaire informed the chief secretary that the facade and roof work is in progress, and finishing work on the pier has begun.Installation of automated baggage handling system is also progressing, the statement said.CEO of Noida Airport and YIAPL Christoph Schnellmann, COO Kiran Jain, CEO of Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) Arun Vir Singh, and project's nodal officer Shailendra Bhatia, among others, apprised Mishra about the developments related to the project.

The meeting also discussed issues related to security, communications, navigation and surveillance systems for air traffic management, and the DGCA (aviation regulator), with participation from officials of the respective central agencies.

The chief secretary asked the concessionaire to ensure that all departmental requirements and regulations are adhered to and that any issues are resolved by September, according to the statement.

"Commercial operations of the airport must begin in December under all circumstances," Mishra said.

Besides, the chief secretary instructed YIAPL that a catch-up plan should be presented by July 15 after a meeting with representatives of Tata Projects, the statement added.