The Importance of Jewar Airport, Noida: Daily Current Affairs

GS-3: Issues relating to growth and development, Inclusive Growth, Infrastructure: Airport

Key phrases: Noida International Airport (NIA), UDAN, RCS, Air Connectivity, Multi-modal connectivity

Why in News?

Prime Minister has recently laid the foundation stone of the Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar, Uttar Pradesh

Key Points:

  • The project is part of the government's plan to expand existing airports and build new ones to both support growth of regional air traffic and to sustain air traffic growth in the congested metros.
  • Jewar Airport will come up about 72 km from IGI Airport, 40 km from Noida, and about 40 km from the multi-modal logistics hub at Dadri.
  • The airport will have multi-modal connectivity owing to its proximity to the Greater Noida-Agra Yamuna Expressway, and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, and will be linked with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at Ballabhgarh, the Khurja-Jewar NH 91, and the dedicated freight corridor.
    • Moreover, the Metro is proposed to be extended from Noida to the NIA and the proposed High Speed Rail (Delhi-Varanasi) at the airport terminal.

UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik)

  • Launched in 2017, it is the Government’s initiative to make air travel to India’s tier II and tier III cities affordable to the aam aadmi.
  • The idea is to put smaller cities and remote regions on the aviation map, by getting domestic airlines to ply more regional routes.

  • Under the scheme, the Government offers incentives to airlines to flag off new flights to neglected smaller cities and towns by providing Viability Gap Funding to make these operations profitable.

  • The airport, the first phase of which is scheduled to open in 2024, is being built through a public private partnership (PPP) with an investment of Rs 5,730 crore.

  • The airport will be spread over an area of 5,000 hectares, and is being developed by Zurich International Airport AG.

  • The company Noida International Airport Ltd was incorporated in 2018 as a joint venture of the Government of Uttar Pradesh (through its Department of Civil Aviation), NOIDA, Greater NOIDA, and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) in the ratio of 37.5% to 37.5% to 12.5% to 12.5%.

  • Once it becomes operational, Uttar Pradesh will have five international airports, the highest for any state in India.

  • Other airports in Uttar Pradesh : Kushinagar International Airport was inaugurated recently, while work is going on in full swing at Ayodhya International Airport. The airports in Varanasi and Lucknow were the first in UP to gain the distinction of operating as international airports.

Need:

  • Imminent saturation of the existing Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi presents a case for a second airport in the National Capital Region to handle the future traffic projections.
    • IGI Airport, which is expected to reach its peak capacity of handling close to 110 million passengers annually within the next decade.
  • Once the new airport begins operation, it will release valuable slots for airlines operating to the NCR region, bringing relief in the current congested scenario.
  • It is not only expected to serve residents of Noida and Greater Noida, but will also provide an alternative airport for residents of New Delhi and Gurgaon.
  • Besides, the airport will provide much needed connectivity to western UP cities like Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Meerut, and Agra.

Conclusion:

Experts say the success of any new airport depends on the connectivity it provides to nearby catchment areas. Noida International Airport will become the logistics gateway for northern India and will turn the region into an export-centre where even MSMEs will have easier access to overseas markets.

Sources: Indian Express

Prelims Question:

Q. Consider the following statements

  1. Noida International Airport at Jewar will be developed indigenously as a part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat

  2. It will be built on Public Private Partnership Model.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

( c) Both are correct

(d) Neither is correct

Ans : b

  • The airport, the first phase of which is scheduled to open in 2024, is being built through a public private partnership (PPP) with an investment of Rs 5,730 crore.

  • The airport will be spread over an area of 5,000 hectares, and is being developed by Zurich International Airport AG.

Mains Question:

Q. Critically examine the need for improving Civil Aviation Infrastructure in India.(150 words)