Noida International Airport to get temple inspired terminal design, focus on India's heritage

As per YIAPL, once the Noida International Airport reaches 80 percent of the 1.2 crore passenger mark, development will start for the phase two of the project with a similar terminal building capable to handle 18 million passengers.

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The upcoming Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh and the Delhi-NCR's second international airport will be ready by September 2024, as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to lay the foundation stone of the airport today (November 25). The first phase of the Noida International Airport (NIA) would be completed by the end of 2024 with one runway and capacity to handle 12 million passengers annually, YIAPL CEO Christoph Schnellmann said.

The airport is being developed in public-private partnership (PPP) mode by the UP government with YIAPL. The work for the first phase of the greenfield project is underway and would cost over Rs 5,700 crore to complete, the official said and noted that the impact of inflation in the project cost was already factored in by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Zurich International Airport AG, the Swiss concessionaire.

"We are all aware of the impact the pandemic has had on all of us in the past two years. One thing I would like to highlight is the fact the teams have embraced digital technologies in coming to terms with the impact of the pandemic. I am proud of this," Schnellmann said.

Another report citing Schnellmann states that the design of the terminals of Noida Airport will be inspired by the heritage of Uttar Pradesh and will comprise multiple elements from temples and havelis to give it a local touch. 

Once the airport reaches 80 percent of the 1.2 crore passenger mark, the NIA will start the phase two of the project with a similar terminal building capable to handle 18 million passengers. "We estimate that the first phase of the airport would cost Rs 5,730 crore. The Rs 29,560 crore or Rs 30,000 crore is an estimate for the entire project (to be developed in four phases). We have secured funding as well for phase one. We have factored inflation into those estimates," Schnellmann said.

"As of today, we have received about 98.5 per cent of the project land, and as you have mentioned about 16 hectares mainly around the periphery of the site that remain to be acquired," he said. Although given that these pockets of the land are on the periphery, there is nothing that would derail the phase one development of the airport, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)