Officials from the Uttar Pradesh government and Zurich International Airport on Wednesday signed a concession agreement to begin construction of the Noida airport in Jewar on the outskirts of Delhi.
“Obviously we will work with local construction partners to build it (the Noida airport) but we will be the main investor at this time,” said Daniel Bircher, CEO of Zurich International Airport (Asia) in an interview.
He said the company could get another financial investor at a later stage to further develop the airport.
“As a strategic objective, we are looking to build an airport platform in India in the medium term. So it could be that we join a financial investor at a later stage to grow this platform (Noida airport). At this stage of the development phase development (of Noida airport), we will do it ourselves, “he added.
Zurich International Airport currently has a 100 percent stake in the Noida Airport project.
It had outbid Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Adani Enterprises and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings Limited to win the 40-year concession for Noida Airport. The DIAL led by the GMR group operates the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi.
“What we know today is that the Delhi Airport (IGIA) has natural limitations in peak hours, so airlines that want to operate during peak hours will find ways to operate. Then there will be a change in these airlines.” Bircher noted.
“So the same airline will also use the airport to make international flights? That is the airline’s decision. I don’t see this airport (Noida) being the competition for international traffic at the existing airport (IGIA). That will not change due to some time, “he said.
When asked if the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has changed its air traffic projections at Noida airport, Bircher said: “Today, there is an impact (due to the pandemic) but we are very confident that India with a domestic market so big … it will rebound very strongly, as we have seen in 2011-12. ”
Over the past 5 to 6 years, a growth rate of more than 20 percent has been observed at some airports in India, so there are no substantial changes in traffic projections, he added.
When it won the tender on November 29 last year to build and operate the Noida airport, the Swiss company had said that the airport will be able to handle 12 million passengers per year after the first construction phase.
Bircher said: “Domestic travel, I have no doubt, will pick up very quickly. Since we are going to have 90 percent domestic traffic in the first few years … I think our assumption is still true.”
When asked if the government had informed the company by when construction of the metro, which connects the airport to the wider Delhi region, will take place, it replied: “We understand that planning has been completed and the government is considering starting execution soon to take it to the airport when we go live. ”
Noida Airport is about 70 km from the main Delhi region.
He said the company has a total of three and a half years to build the Noida airport.
“We have three and a half years, so we have six months to do the financial closing, and the concession starts then and we have three years to build the airport,” Bircher said.
He said they were working hard now in the planning stage.
“We are considering an investment of Rs 4,500 crore for the first phase. This is in an area of 1,334 hectares of land that has been given for development. This includes a runway, platform space, this includes 12 boarding bridges for the terminal, and also includes space for cargo catering, “he said.
He said that in the planning stage they were focusing on digitization to provide contactless services to passengers.
“We are focusing on short connection times … We want to make it easier for the passenger to connect (for the other flight) and also for the airline to reduce the time the aircraft is on the ground to reduce the cost of the airline.” Bircher said.
Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL) is a 100% subsidiary of Zurich International Airport, which has been incorporated to develop the new Noida Airport in Jewar.
YIAPL will implement the Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the Noida Airport project together with the Uttar Pradesh government, the New Delhi Okhla Industrial Development Authority and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority.
Bircher said: “We see good potential in the development of this airport into a logistics center with all the adjacent logistics development and planned projects. It also includes 74 hectares of urban area that can be developed.”
“We will take this in a phased approach, initially it will most likely be a hotel and the rest we are still studying. This also includes a metro station on our land,” he added. DSP AAR AAR
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