Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Saturday said approval for the first phase of Jewar airport in western Uttar Pradesh has been granted and the airport is likely to be operational in the next five to six years.
The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority has notified 3,000 hectares of land for a world-class international airport, Raju added.
"Noida International Airport will cater to 30-50 million passengers per year over the next 10-15 years," Raju tweeted.
It was under Rajnath Singh’s tenure as chief minister that the idea of the airport was conceived in 2001. The idea was revived and shelved multiple times during the SP and the BSP governments. Now, with the BJP ruling both in the state and Centre, leaders have expressed a desire to pursue it together.
The airport will help reduce congestion at the Delhi international airport.
"In Delhi, we are expecting 91 million passengers by 2020 and 109 million passengers by 2024," Raju told reporters.
Elaborating on the project, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said the first phase of the airport – Noida International Airport – is expected to cost Rs 10,000 crore.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS.)
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