The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Cabinet on Monday approved Zurich Airport International (ZAI) as developer for Jewar Airport and the construction of what is being billed the biggest airport in the country all expected to begin in February. Earlier emerged as the highest bidder, ZAI offered a per passenger fee of nearly INR 401, outbidding three other contenders, including GMR group-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Adani Enterprises and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings for a chance to built the Jewar Airport. 

The decision to select ZAI as the concessionaire of the proposed airport was taken at the UP cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow. Addressing the media, UP cabinet Minister Sidharth Nath Singh said the technical specifications of the proposed project were hailed by Niti Aayog, which had even recommended their being set as standards for future such projects in India. 

Flughafen Zürich AG was elected as Selected Bidder for the concession to design, develop and operate the new Noida International Airport at Jewar in India. https://t.co/5hqECa7gc7 #ZRH pic.twitter.com/mIWVku8Pw0

— Zurich Airport (@zrh_airport) November 29, 2019

The project monitoring and implementation committee (PMIC) had made the recommendation of ZAI for the upcoming greenfield international airport project, said an official spokesperson. After holding a meeting under the chairmanship of the chief secretary to the UP government, it was decided that the ZAI was the highest bidder and shall be awarded the project.

The project will have an estimated cost of INR 29,560 crore and spread over 5000 hectares.  

Meanwhile, the state government plans to issue a conditional letter of award to ZAI later this week, while the selected bidder is expected to file for security clearance with the union home ministry in the firsts week of January 2020. The new airport- Jewar Airport- will be designed, developed and operated under a 40-year concession period and ZAI will invest more than INR 4500 crore towards the same. Singh said that more than 80 per cent of the land has already been acquired for the project, which requires almost 1450 hectares of land for the first phase spanning six villages in Greater Noida.  

With the Jewar Airport or the Noida International Greenfield Airport to be spread over 5000 hectares with an estimated cost of INR 29,560 crore when fully built, the airport is expected to have six to eight runways, making it a mega project for both ZAI and the UP government.