NCR to get its 2nd airport after IGIA.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: The National Capital Region will soon get one more international airport as the ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday approved the proposal for the second one.
Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation said the government will hand over the operation of the new airport which is planned in the Jewar area of Greater Noida to GMR group, which is currently operating the Indira Gandhi International Airport Ltd in Delhi.
According to the minister, after getting a nod from the cabinet, Civil Aviation ministry will offer the contract to build and run the proposed Jewar airport to the GMR Group. This because it has the right of first refusal (RoFR) as the IGI Airport that is currently operated by the group is within the 150 KM radius of the proposed airport in Jewar.
As per the existing law under RoFR, the operator who is in charge of the nearest Airport within the 150 KM radius will be asked to match the lowest bid arrived for the proposed project. If the GMR Group’s bid is equal or less than 10% of the bid offered by the lowest bidder, the government will have to accept their offer.
Minister Sharma said, “We have already acquired over 2,200 acres for the proposed airport and much more can be acquired since land availability is not an issue in that area. Plus, the road infrastructure till the site for the proposed Jewar airport is also adequate.”
The next big task in front of the government is to pass an amendment to build the second airport in the national capital. The current rules don’t allow two airports to function within the radius of 150 KM. The only provision that allows the functioning of a second airport is unless the first airport runs out of its operational capacity.
According to the policy on airport infrastructure of India, the government is allowed to build a second airport in the radius of 150 KM only in places where the existing airport is unable to meet the projected requirements of traffic or in case a “new focal point of traffic emerges with sufficient viability”. In such cases the law permits a complete replacement or for simultaneous operation of two airports within the 150 KM radius.
The current policy states, “No greenfield airport will normally be allowed within an aerial distance of 150 km of an existing airport. Where it is allowed as a second airport in the same city or close vicinity, the parameters for distribution of traffic between the two airports will be clearly spelt out.”
The proposal for a new airport in the national capital region was proposed by the former Mayawati-led BSP government in Utter Pradesh and the then ruling UPA constituted a group of ministers to decide on the issue.
After BJP came to power in the centre, the civil aviation minister had expressed the necessity of a new airport in the national capital due to the increasing number of commuters. But, Indian Express quoted a source within the IGI Airport saying that there is ample room for growth within the IGI itself and the airport has an operational capacity of 62 million passengers per year. He also added that when the fourth terminal and the new runway becomes functional, the capacity of IGI will increase to 100 million passengers.
2 Comments
Jewar is well connected with major Arterial and Broad Road . Yamuna expressway is hardly 20 min run from Greater Noida and 20 min drive from Kalindi Kunj. I myself has traveled to this location and i can tell you this is best Road , where each one of you would like to drive. Further , with Airport well connected with Grt Noida / Noida / Ghaziabad , i dont feel like moving back to Delhi which is far more congested and trouble some.
The dumbest politically-infested idea of the decade!! Reaching Jewar will be more cumbersome as compared to the present airport. Airlines will ensure that the battle of the airport owners will begin…….One will try to undercut the other & the Govt. will eventually be held to ransom by GMR or the Jewar Airport owner. This is just a very silly move which reeks of political motivation on part of the failed Akilesh Govt.