Lucknow, Jul 17 (UNI) The construction work of Noida International Airport, Jewar, one of the world's largest airports, may start anytime soon as the land lease agreement was signed at a virtual ceremony in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here on Saturday.
The foundation stone of this airport is proposed to be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month. The function could be held on August 15 next or thereafter.
The process to give 1,334 hectares of land to Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) by the state government on a 90-year lease for Jewar Airport had been completed. The share holder agreement between airport developer company Zurich Airport International (AG), Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd, a 100 percent subsidiary of Zurich Airport International which is incorporated a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to develop the Greenfield airport, and NIAL was also formalised at the ceremony.
In a program organised at the Chief Minister's residence on Saturday, CM Yogi expressed happiness over the progress of the work of Jewar Airport in a time bound manner even in the midst of Corona pandemic. He said that this airport would not only prove to be a milestone in the development of Uttar Pradesh, but would also give a new dimension to make air connectivity universal and world class in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that during the last four years, there had been a lot of development in the field of civil aviation in UP. In 2017, there are only four functional airports in the state, out of which only Lucknow and Varanasi were regular while remaining Gorakhpur and Agra used to have infrequent flights.
"Today, we have eight fully functional airports in UP. Before 2017, we had only 25 destinations from Lucknow and Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Agra but today the service expansion is almost three times in terms of destinations, " he pointed out adding " there are 10 airports under construction."
He further informed that the work on Kushinagar International Airport had been almost completed may start international flights anytime. Watching the presentation on the occasion, the CM said that the airport terminal should be a unique example of Indian architecture.
CM Yogi said that very idea of Jewar Airport did send across a positive message but the same people became active who had earlier obstructed the development works by becoming middlemen during the formation of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Authority.
He said that in such a situation, the district administration interacted directly with the farmers. The farmers of all the villages under the Jewar Airport project and the officials of the local administration gave full cooperation and finally the land acquisition and resettlement work was completed without any dispute.
CM Yogi recalled that the same area was witness to violence, agitations and severe law and order crisis over development works in the past but the land acquisition for this project was all smooth and in a peaceful manner. "Jewar Airport is a great medium for us to pursue the future prospects, which will help in making Uttar Pradesh a one trillion dollar economy," the CM enthused confidence.
Earlier, Minister of Civil Aviation, Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, said that the Jewar Airport will become a global identity of Uttar Pradesh. Several officials of the Civil Aviation Department, CEO of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority and representatives of Zurich Airport International (AG) were present at the event.
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